American soldier who crossed border expelled from North Korea

North Korea announced this Wednesday (27) the expulsion of American soldier Travis King, who remained detained after entering the country through the border with South Korea, in July.

“The competent body of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of the North, has decided to expel Travis King, a US Navy soldier who illegally entered our territory,” the North Korean state agency reported. KCNAin a dispatch to which the South Korean agency had access Yonhap.

King, 23, crossed the border to the North after spending 48 days in a South Korean penitentiary institution for failing to pay a fine imposed in February for an incident with the police in Seoul and, according to Pyongyang at the time, he had requested asylum in the country.

The North Korean regime took the decision to expel the soldier after completing an investigation into the case, about which no details were provided.

The North Korean state agency also did not provide information on when or how the soldier’s expulsion will take place.

On July 18, King crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and entered North Korea taking advantage of his participation in a tourist visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA), in the heart of the border between the two Koreas.

The soldier would be repatriated as a disciplinary measure for his problems with the South Korean justice system when the incident occurred.

A month later, the North Korean regime publicly acknowledged his detention after having “illegally entered the territory” and assured that the soldier had expressed “his desire to seek asylum” there or in a third country.

American authorities indicated at the time that they were unable to corroborate information published by North Korean media outlets, but that they were working to return him to the United States.