A U.S. soldier who was sentenced and discharged from the military by the American authorities for entering North Korea illegally was released upon serving his sentence on Friday, September 20.
In July 2023, Private Travis King from the U.S. Army entered North Korea from South Korea without authorization and was detained by North Korea for about two months. In late September of the same year, he was deported from North Korea and returned to Texas, where he had been held in custody since then.
Being the first American to be detained by North Korea in nearly five years, King’s defection incident captured international attention as the United States has never established formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.
King faced 14 charges brought by the U.S. prosecutors. During a hearing held on Friday in El Paso, Texas, he admitted to 5 of the charges, including desertion, assaulting an officer, and three counts of disobeying commanding officers.
His legal team stated that due to his serving of time and good behavior, the 24-year-old King was granted release.
According to his lawyer, Franklin Rosenblatt, in a statement, “Under the terms of the plea agreement, the judge sentenced King to one year of imprisonment, demotion to Private (E-1), forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and dishonorable discharge.”
“King has served his sentence and performed well, and is now released and heading home.”
During Friday’s hearing, King told Lieutenant Colonel Rick Mathew, the military judge, that he had been contemplating escape for a year before the actual action.
He was diagnosed with mental illness but insisted he was physically fit to stand trial and understood the charges against him.
Rosenblatt stated in a separate release that King takes full responsibility for what happened and added that King “faced significant challenges in life, including difficult growing up experiences, exposure to a criminal environment, and mental health issues.”
“All of these factors exacerbated the difficulties he faced in the military,” Rosenblatt said.
King enlisted in January 2021. The string of charges against him dates back to July 10 the previous year when he was detained in South Korea for two months for allegedly assaulting others.
About a week after his release, U.S. military personnel prepared to return King to the United States for disciplinary review in Fort Bliss, Texas. He managed to blend in with a tour group heading to the DMZ in Korea. Subsequently, he entered North Korea while the tourists were present and was detained.
In a July Associated Press report, King’s lawyer was in negotiations with U.S. military prosecutors to reach a plea agreement. An initial hearing scheduled for that month was later postponed to allow for negotiations.
Rosenblatt, in a statement, mentioned that despite King’s release on Friday, the “public’s negative perception” and the detention experience “represent a lifelong punishment he will bear.”