US soldier facing disciplinary action flees into DPRK
UNC (United Nations Command) soldiers (right) and a South Korean soldier (left) stand guard before DPRK's Panmon Hall and the military demarcation line separating North and South Korea, at Panmunjom, in the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone on October 4, 2022.
An American soldier facing disciplinary action fled across the inter-Korean border into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on Tuesday and was believed to be in DPRK's custody, US officials said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern for the soldier, who the US military in South Korea said joined an orientation tour of Joint Security Area between the Koreas and "wilfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
The US Army identified the soldier as Private Second Class Travis T. King.
"There's a lot that we're still trying to learn," Austin told a news briefing. "We believe that he is in custody and so we're closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier's next of kin."
Colonel Isaac Taylor, spokesperson for US Forces Korea, said the military was working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident."
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said US officials at the Pentagon, the State Department and the United Nations were all working to "to ascertain more information and resolve this situation."
DPRK's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A dash across the border
The man was with a group of visitors, including civilians, to the Panmunjom truce village when he suddenly bolted over the brick line marking the border, South Korean media reported, citing South Korean army sources.
Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldier had been due to face disciplinary action by the US military.
The Joint Security Area in the demilitarized zone that has separated the Koreas since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
US officials told Reuters it was not clear why the soldier fled. He had finished serving time in detention in South Korea for an unspecified infraction and was returning to his home unit in the US, two officials said.
He was not in US military custody at the time he decided to flee, one official said, and it appeared he made a surprise decision to join the civilian tour to the demilitarized zone.
