US Soldier Crosses into North Korea

[Ernie]

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... feadef69be

Can someone help me understand why this will hurt US/North Korean relationships? And why does the US want this soldier back, if he willfully went to North Korea?

[JimFoxvog]

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... feadef69be

Can someone help me understand why this will hurt US/North Korean relationships? And why does the US want this soldier back, if he willfully went to North Korea?

We need to know more, but one speculation is that he could be defecting, bring information to North Korea the USA would prefer not to share.

[Szdfan]

[/b] user_id=69]
https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... feadef69be

Can someone help me understand why this will hurt US/North Korean relationships? And why does the US want this soldier back, if he willfully went to North Korea?

Travis King was being sent back to Fort Bliss for military discipline and potential discharge. He had already spent two months in a South Korean prison on assault charges.

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... 0c8279438b

Why will this hurt US-North Korean relations?

The US-North Korean relationship is so bad that any kind of conflict between them (no matter how small) heightens tensions and makes things worse.

Why does the US want him back? Some speculations:

1) The most obvious reason is that King is eluding military justice. Typically countries try to get back fugitives that have fled to foreign countries.

2) King may represent at least some intelligence value to North Korea. I can’t imagine that the US is thrilled that a soldier posted in South Korea could potentially provide intelligence to the North on US operations in the country.

3) King also represents propaganda value to North Korea. The North Koreans used American defector Charles Jenkins in their propaganda.

[Ernie]

Thank you Szdfan. This helps explain.

[Ernie]

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... 12fe391465

Relatives described Pvt. Travis King, 23, as a quiet loner who did not drink or smoke and enjoyed reading the Bible.

[RZehr]

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... 12fe391465

Relatives described Pvt. Travis King, 23, as a quiet loner who did not drink or smoke and enjoyed reading the Bible.

… with Lancaster roots? Maybe he suddenly decided that serving in the armed forces wasn’t what the Bible taught, and launched himself urgently into the hermit kingdom to evangelize.

[Szdfan]

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... 12fe391465

Relatives described Pvt. Travis King, 23, as a quiet loner who did not drink or smoke and enjoyed reading the Bible.

… with Lancaster roots? Maybe he suddenly decided that serving in the armed forces wasn’t what the Bible taught, and launched himself urgently into the hermit kingdom to evangelize.

That might be more believable if he wasn’t being sent back to the US for assault.

[Ken]

Here is a whole lot more about Private King: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/19/11885303 ... orth-korea

Officials say Pvt. 2nd Class King has been a cavalry scout with the U.S. Army since January 2021.

The 23-year-old had been stationed in South Korea, but had recently served two months in a prison there on charges of assault, the Associated Press reported.

Several South Korean media outlets report that King had punched a South Korean national in a club last September. He had also been fined 5 million won ($3,942) for causing public damage and being uncooperative with police during his arrest.

According to an account from the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing legal sources, King yelled obscenities at South Korean police as he kicked the doors and interior of a police vehicle.

CBS News reports that King was released to U.S. officials at the military hub in the country about a week ago.

Just off the top of my head he doesn't sound like our best and brightest. If he joined the army in January 2021 he should be a specialist or corporal by now rather than E-2 (private 2nd class) which is the lowest enlisted rank above a buck private trainee. The normal promotion schedule is to E-3 (private 1st class) after 12 months and then E-4 (specialist or corporal) after 24 months. Perhaps he was busted back down to private 2nd class or was just too problematic to ever get promoted.

It also doesn't sound like he faced all that much future discipline. Soldiers get into drunken bar fights all the time. It doesn't mean hard time. So one has to wonder what he was thinking by fleeing to North Korea.

Based on the reporting I heard this afternoon on NPR where they interviewed some retired military officer with North Korean experience it sounds like the North Koreans are liable to detain him and interrogate him initially to see if there is anything useful they can get out of him, either in terms of intelligence or propaganda value (if they can put him on TV bad-mouthing the US or US army or some such). If he is of some use to them they'll probably let him stay. If he is of no use to them they'll probably send him back in some sort of eventual swap or exchange that might be years from now. They won't likely give him back for free without getting anything in return.

Oh, and the US ALWAYS wants its soldiers back. They are US property to so speak. And desertion is actually a crime. They can't just let soldiers deployed overseas wander off and desert at will.

[ohio jones]

Soldiers get into drunken bar fights all the time.

Especially those who do not drink or smoke and enjoy reading the Bible.

[Szdfan]

Soldiers get into drunken bar fights all the time.

Especially those who do not drink or smoke and enjoy reading the Bible.

https://apnews.com/article/north-korea- ... 12fe391465

King was facing discharge from the Army because he was convicted of a crime in a foreign country, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

In February, a court fined King 5 million won ($3,950) after he was convicted of assaulting an unidentified person and damaging a police vehicle in Seoul last October, according to a transcript of the verdict obtained by the AP.

The ruling said King was also accused of punching a 23-year-old man at a Seoul nightclub, though the court dismissed that charge because the victim did not want the soldier to be punished. King served 47 days in prison.