For the first time in decades a US soldier is believed to be detained in North Korea.
Travis King is being held in North Korea after crossing the border from South Korea ‘willfully and without authorization’ on Tuesday during a sightseers tour of the Joint Security Area, the US military has confirmed.
The incident happened a day after King was escorted to a South Korean airport after his release from prison, where he had been jailed for an altercation with locals.
He was due to fly back to the US and report to his base in Fort Bliss, Texas, but was only taken as far as security and was left alone as he was unable to pass through without a ticket.
Instead of getting on the plane at Incheon International Airport, he managed to leave the airport, then joined a tourist tour of the North Korean border.
Witnesses said King, 23, shouted ‘ha ha ha’ as he sprinted away from the tour group and over the heavily patrolled border.
But who is Travis King? And what do we know about his trip over the border? Here is everything we know so far.
Travis King crossed into North Korea shortly after being released from prison in South Korea
North Korea has still not produced the 23-year-old Private 2nd Class or acknowledged his arrest
King crossed the border at Panmunjom, during a tour of the Joint Security Area of the Demilitarized Zone, which he joined with 43 other tourists
Who is Travis King?
King is a cavalry scout who joined the military in January 2021.
At the time of his rotation in South Korea, King was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas, according to Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee.
US officials did not confirm how long King had been in South Korea, but said the scout has faced disciplinary action for assault and spent 50 days in a detention facility.
Court documents reveal that months earlier, King had faced two assault allegations and was fined by a South Korean court for damaging a police car.
It is unknown whether King spent his time in custody in South Korea or the US, but according to US officials he was escorted to an airport for a flight back to the United States after his release.
Currently, King is believed to be the first soldier to cross the border into North Korea since 1982.
His mother, Claudine Gates, said she had heard from her son just days before and he told her that he would return to his base in Fort Bliss, Texas.
She said she was ‘shocked’ by the news, adding: ‘I can’t see Travis doing anything like that.’
Why was Travis King detained in North Korea?
King’s motive for his high-stakes trip across the border remains unclear.
Sarah Leslie, a New Zealand tourist who witnessed King’s crossing, and captured a photo of the soldier , said she initially believed he pulled the stunt for TikTok.
She was among a group of 43 tourists on the trip, and said she had no idea at the time that he was a soldier, or in legal trouble.
‘I assumed initially he had a mate filming him in some kind of really stupid prank or stunt, like a TikTok, the most stupid thing you could do,’ Leslie said. ‘But then I heard one of the soldiers shout, ‘Get that guy.”
Leslie said the command was shouted by an American soldier, one of a group that patrols the area along with South Korean troops.
But the soldiers didn’t have time to respond. She said that after running about 30 feet down a narrow passageway between the distinctive blue buildings, King was over the border and then disappeared from sight.
A tourist who witnessed King’s stunt, Sarah Leslie from New Zealand, said she initially believed it was a stunt ‘for TikTok’
What crimes has he been accused of?
Aside from crossing the border into uncharted territory, King has faced a series of other allegations.
Court records reveal that King pleaded guilty to assault and destruction of public goods after an incident in October.
In addition, on February 8, the Seoul Western District Court fined him 5 million, according to a copy of the ruling reviewed by Reuters, of which they only won $4,000.
Two anonymous U.S officials, said the soldier had been due to face disciplinary action by the U.S. military. It’s not clear whether the disciplinary action was linked to his conviction over damaging the police vehicle.
Last September, the Seoul court said King punched a man several times in the face but the case was settled.
During his arrest police placed him in the back seat of a patrol car, where he shouted insults against Korean officials and kicked the vehicle’s door several times, causing about 584,000 won ($461) in damages, the ruling said.
The court said the defendant had admitted to the charges, had no previous criminal record, and paid 1 million won ($790) to fix the vehicle, citing reasons in favor of him in the sentencing.
What could happen next to Travis King?
North Korea has still not produced the 23-year-old Private 2nd Class or acknowledged his arrest.
At a Pentagon press conference Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed the U.S. service member was likely now in North Korean custody
The United Nations Command, which oversees operations in the DMZ, said it was ‘working with our (North) Korean People’s Army counterparts to resolve this incident.’ What North Korea might demand to return King back to US custody is unknown.
‘We’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation,’ US defence chief Lloyd Austin told a Pentagon news conference, noting he was foremost concerned about the troop’s wellbeing. ‘This will develop in the next several days and hours, and we’ll keep you posted.’
It is not yet known how or if the US and North Korea, who have no diplomatic relations, would hold talks .
In previous years, Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, provided services for other US nationals detained in North Korea.
Former President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, South Korea on June 30, 2019 – the spot where King made his crossing
The border between North Korea and South Korea is heavily guarded
Yet its embassy’s diplomatic staff reportedly have not returned to North Korea since the country imposed a COVID-19 lockdown and ordered all foreigners out
Tuesday’s border crossing happened amid high tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since the start of last year.
Some observers say King’s case could be used as a leverage and suggest North Korea ‘obviously have the upper hand.’
Lawrence Korb, former US assistant secretary of defence, told Al Jazeera: ‘They could use this as a bargaining chip and say ‘If you want him back you gonna have to take more troops out of South Korea or get rid of this nuclear consultative group’ or something like that.’
The last American known to be detained in North Korea was Bruce Byron Lowrance, who was held for a month after he illegally entered the country from China.
King’s mother, Claudine Gates, told ABC she was ‘so proud’ of her son and added: ‘I just want him to come home, come back to America.’
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