North Korea claims U.S. soldier crossed border due to disillusionment with America
Global News
U.S. officials have expressed concern about his well-being and said previously that North Korea ignored requests for information about him.
North Korea asserted Wednesday that a U.S. soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after being disillusioned with the inequality of American society and racial discrimination in its Army.
It’s North Korea’s first official confirmation of detention of Private 2nd Class Travis King, who entered the North while on a tour of a Korean border village on July 18. He became the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.
The North Korean official news agency, KCNA, said King told investigators that he had decided to enter North Korea because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
It said King also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country, saying he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society.”
KCNA is a propaganda arm of North Korea’s dictatorship and often releases statements and articles carefully calibrated to reflect the government’s official line that the United States is an evil adversary.
It’s virtually impossible to confirm the authenticity of King’s comments reported in North Korea’s state media. North Korea has coerced statements from captives before.
The Pentagon said in a brief statement to Reuters it could not verify King’s alleged comments.
“We remain focused on his safe return. The department’s priority is to bring Private King home, and that we are working through all available channels to achieve that outcome,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.