In a development that brings relief to an international incident, the American soldier who made a daring dash into North Korea from South Korea’s heavily militarized border in July has been returned to the custody of his home country, US officials confirmed on Wednesday.
Army Private Travis King was transferred out of North Korea, crossing the border into China, where he was received by US authorities. He is currently being relocated to an American military facility and is expected to return to the United States in due course, according to a senior US official.
Earlier in the day, North Korea’s official news agency KCNA had announced its decision to expel King from the communist state, marking a resolution to a bizarre incident that had injected an added layer of complexity into the already tense relations between Pyongyang and the United States, as well as its ally, South Korea.
The senior US official reported that diplomats who had interacted with King had conveyed that he appeared to be “in good health and good spirits” and was eagerly anticipating reuniting with his family. “Private King was very happy to be on his way home,” the official added. “That has been quite clear as we have resumed our contact with him.”
The incident unfolded on July 18 when King, a 23-year-old serviceman from Wisconsin, made a bold escape during a guided tour of a “joint security area” between North and South Korea. His flight had triggered intense international speculation about his motivations.
KCNA, in its statement on Wednesday, disclosed that Pyongyang had concluded its investigation into the border crossing incident and alleged that King had harbored negative feelings stemming from what he perceived as inhumane treatment and racial discrimination within the US army. KCNA further claimed that King had become “disillusioned about the unequal US society,” although it provided no specific details about the circumstances leading to his expulsion.
