US soldier flees to North Korea disguised as tourist

A US soldier facing disciplinary action fled across the inter-Korean border into North Korea yesterday, where he is being held in custody, US officials said.

- ALISHA RAHAMAN SARKAR GUSTAF KILANDER

Private 2nd Class Travis King had just been released from a South Korean prison where he had been held on assault charges and was facing additional military disciplinary actions in the US.

Pte King, who is in his early twenties, was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, but instead of getting on the aircraft he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border. While crossing the demilitarized zone (DMZ) he gave out a loud “ha ha ha”, a witness has said. He had joined a group taking a tour of the Joint Security Area – the border village in the DMZ separating the two Koreas, which is heavily guarded by soldiers from both sides.

The UN Command said: “A US National on a JSA (Joint Security Area) orientation tour crossed, without authorisation, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).” Authorities said that “we are working with KPA (North Korean army) counterparts to resolve this incident”. A US official told CBS News that the service member was being escorted back to the US following disciplinary issues but was able to return and join the border tour after going through airport security.