US Soldier Captured Crossing N Korea Border

[Gandalf]

The Russian Defense Minister is now visiting North Korea to celebrate "Victory Day".

Maybe I'm paranoid, but with a US Soldier now captive, I have to wonder why Russia decided to visit NOW.

It's 70 years since the armistice. Since the USSR and DPRK were on the same side of the conflict, it makes sense for someone from Russia to visit.

[LadyTevar]

The Russian Defense Minister is now visiting North Korea to celebrate "Victory Day".

Maybe I'm paranoid, but with a US Soldier now captive, I have to wonder why Russia decided to visit NOW.

It's 70 years since the armistice. Since the USSR and DPRK were on the same side of the conflict, it makes sense for someone from Russia to visit.

Good to know it's a common thing, pre-Covid.

Still makes me concerned for the US Soldier. You know Russia knows about it, it was all over the news.

[Ralin]

Frankly it doesn't seem like they have any particular reason to care or get involved unless they think they can swap helping get him returned for a favor or concession. He's just some random dumbass who did something especially stupid when you get down to it.

[The_Saint]

If anything I would expect his 'usefulness' to Russia would be far less than any potential 'usefulness' to DPRK.

[Highlord Laan]

He was an Infantry Private. His usefulness to the US Army was of extremely limited potential.

These are the guys kept either on base or under supervision, because if let out in the wilds of civilian-land they're like to cause damage to people and property that might incur legal fees. Low and behold, he slipped the leash and fucked up bad.

Honestly, just drag him back to the US, fit him with a shock collar, and confine him to the barracks when not taking all the shit duties on base for a year.

[LadyTevar]

He was an Infantry Private. His usefulness to the US Army was of extremely limited potential.

These are the guys kept either on base or under supervision, because if let out in the wilds of civilian-land they're like to cause damage to people and property that might incur legal fees. Low and behold, he slipped the leash and fucked up bad.

Honestly, just drag him back to the US, fit him with a shock collar, and confine him to the barracks when not taking all the shit duties on base for a year.

Oh no... He'd fucked up to the point he was probably headed to Leavenworth. Assaulting Korean Civilians as well as Police? Yeah...

[Beowulf]

He was an Infantry Private. His usefulness to the US Army was of extremely limited potential.

These are the guys kept either on base or under supervision, because if let out in the wilds of civilian-land they're like to cause damage to people and property that might incur legal fees. Low and behold, he slipped the leash and fucked up bad.

Honestly, just drag him back to the US, fit him with a shock collar, and confine him to the barracks when not taking all the shit duties on base for a year.

Oh no... He'd fucked up to the point he was probably headed to Leavenworth. Assaulting Korean Civilians as well as Police? Yeah...

Public release of what was going to happen to him was a discharge when he got back state-side. He already spent several months in SK jails, and it's easier to just kick him out at that point. This is also why he wasn't considered a flight risk: the only thing he'd be fleeing was a discharge.

[LadyTevar]

Finally, an update of sorts.

N.Korea Confirms PVT King in Custody

North Korea has confirmed custody of Travis King in its first response to requests for information on the US soldier's whereabouts, the UN Command has said.

The 23-year-old private dashed across the border from South Korea on 18 July while on a guided tour.

The UN Command said it would not give more details about Pyongyang's response at this time.

It said it "did not want to interfere with the efforts to bring him home".

However, the reply indicates Pyongyang could be ready to start negotiating.

The UN Command, which polices the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), had sought information on Private 2nd Class (PV2) King using its direct phone line to the North Korean Army [KPA] in the Joint Security Area.

"KPA has responded to the United Nations Command with regards to PV2 King. In order not to interfere with our efforts to get him home, we will not go into details at this time," a statement said.

There's a little more to the article, but it's rehashing what we already knew.

[Crazedwraith]

NK has made a statement about this

North Korea has said US soldier Travis King crossed into its territory last month because of "inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination" in the army.

The 23-year-old private dashed across the border from South Korea on 18 July while on a guided tour.

Private King "expressed his willingness to seek refuge" in the North, the country's state media said.

The claims, which are the North's first public comments on the case, could not be verified independently.

US officials said earlier they believed the soldier had crossed the border intentionally.

Private King is a reconnaissance specialist who has been in the army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of his rotation.

Before crossing the border, he served two months in detention in South Korea for assault charges and was released on 10 July.

He was supposed to fly back to the US to face disciplinary proceedings but managed to leave the airport and join a tour of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea.

"During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK [North Korea] as he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army," North Korean state news agency KCNA said.

"He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society."

North Korea is one of the few countries still under nominally communist rule and has long been a highly secretive and isolated society. Its government, led by Kim Jong-un, also stands accused of systematic human rights abuse.

The DMZ, one of the most heavily fortified areas in the world, is filled with landmines, surrounded by electric and barbed wire fencing, and monitored by surveillance cameras. Armed guards are supposed to be on alert 24 hours a day.

One person who said they were on the same tour of the South Korean side of the area as Private King described how the group had just visited a building at the site when "this man gives out a loud 'ha ha ha', and just runs in between some buildings".

"I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn't come back, I realised it wasn't a joke, and then everybody reacted and things got crazy," the unnamed witness told the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

They added that there had been no North Korean soldiers visible when the man crossed.

"It was on the way back in the bus, and we got to one of the checkpoints... someone said we were 43 going in and 42 coming back," they said.

Concerns have been growing for the US soldier's welfare. Negotiations between the North Korean authorities and the UN command on the Korean peninsula have been ongoing.

[LadyTevar]

Well... Yeah... there's racism in the US military.
Leaving him to serve 2months in a South Korean prison for attacking Korean civilians and police instead of shipping him home to begin with could be seen (by the prisoner) as "inhumane". Putting him on a plane to be drummed out of the military because he beat up Korean civilians and spent two months in prison for it (punishment atop of punishment) could be seen (by the prisoner) as "inhumane".

Whether North Korea is correctly attributing these things as Pvt King's own words? Maybe.
It's really as questionable as any other information made by the North Korean Government, where nearly everything they spread to the Western Media is all propoganda to make themselves look better.

Now.. what do they have to gain if Pvt King is actually asking to defect?
Assuming the Nork have access to all the news that's been released about this, they probably know everything we've seen in the media about Pvt King, so it's not like he can lie about his reasons to leave the US.
So, is he a Prisoner, or an Honored Guest?

[Jub]

They can use him for internal propaganda about how terrible the US is and how this lone brave defector would be joined by many of his comrades if only they weren't under the West's iron fist.

[Ralin]

Having a native English speaker to put to work making and editing propaganda is probably useful too. I expect they have a limited supply of those.

[Solauren]

Quite frankly, NK has to be looking at the guy and asking one thing; How much is he WORTH. What can they get from him if they keep him, vs how much can they get for 'returning him'.

Beyond some pictures with their 'Dear Leader', released AFTER he's returned to US custody, I can't honestly see him being worth much to them.
'Dear Leader' was educated outside of North Korea. He knows how the world sees NK, and probably doesn't care.

It's internal propaganda they care about.

So, come pictures with 'Dear Leader', showing him 'defecting over', and then stuff him in a troop carrier, and hand him back over to the South Koreans/US military. Best of both worlds.

[LadyTevar]

Quite frankly, NK has to be looking at the guy and asking one thing; How much is he WORTH. What can they get from him if they keep him, vs how much can they get for 'returning him'.

Beyond some pictures with their 'Dear Leader', released AFTER he's returned to US custody, I can't honestly see him being worth much to them.
'Dear Leader' was educated outside of North Korea. He knows how the world sees NK, and probably doesn't care.

It's internal propaganda they care about.

So, come pictures with 'Dear Leader', showing him 'defecting over', and then stuff him in a troop carrier, and hand him back over to the South Koreans/US military. Best of both worlds.

Take enough photos, they can have him 'living in Korea' long after they turn him over, keep that propaganda rolling for a while before they let him 'live quietly as a good Korean'.

[Gandalf]

Having a native English speaker to put to work making and editing propaganda is probably useful too. I expect they have a limited supply of those.

Pretty much this. Get him a flat in Pyongyang, and a professional handler to help him get around, and he's incredibly helpful.

I recall reading pre-Covid that Kim was looking to open the DPRK up to the world somewhat, so a guy fleeing the US's military for racism reasons to a safer place looks good.

[Solauren]

Having a native English speaker to put to work making and editing propaganda is probably useful too. I expect they have a limited supply of those.

Pretty much this. Get him a flat in Pyongyang, and a professional handler to help him get around, and he's incredibly helpful.

I recall reading pre-Covid that Kim was looking to open the DPRK up to the world somewhat, so a guy fleeing the US's military for racism reasons to a safer place looks good.

True. BUT, is he the type of person they want to keep in Korea, or would a quick 'photo tour' and turn over be better?
I mean, he already has a history of violence. It would look really bad internally for Kim if they kept him, and then he started attacking people.

[bilateralrope]

Having a native English speaker to put to work making and editing propaganda is probably useful too. I expect they have a limited supply of those.

Pretty much this. Get him a flat in Pyongyang, and a professional handler to help him get around, and he's incredibly helpful.

I recall reading pre-Covid that Kim was looking to open the DPRK up to the world somewhat, so a guy fleeing the US's military for racism reasons to a safer place looks good.

True. BUT, is he the type of person they want to keep in Korea, or would a quick 'photo tour' and turn over be better?
I mean, he already has a history of violence. It would look really bad internally for Kim if they kept him, and then he started attacking people.

Unless he can be convinced to only attack whoever Kim wants him to attack.

[Ralin]

True. BUT, is he the type of person they want to keep in Korea, or would a quick 'photo tour' and turn over be better?
I mean, he already has a history of violence. It would look really bad internally for Kim if they kept him, and then he started attacking people.

Not really. That's what hard labor and other such punishments are for. I think the North Koreans have a good grasp of that shit.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

True. BUT, is he the type of person they want to keep in Korea, or would a quick 'photo tour' and turn over be better?
I mean, he already has a history of violence. It would look really bad internally for Kim if they kept him, and then he started attacking people.

Not really. That's what hard labor and other such punishments are for. I think the North Koreans have a good grasp of that shit.

Which they're more than happy to direct at their own people, never mind their enemies. This guy will be finding out the hard way that life in a South Korean prison will paradise compared to a North Korean one. And from what little is known, NK is the one country even more racist than the USA, as evidenced by in 2014 their state media publishing a racist rant directed at Barack Obama, comparing him to a monkey. So as a black American dude, this guy is completely fucked

[Broomstick]

A bit of a necro but very directly relevant, so ....

Looks like the North Koreas have decided he's of no use to them so they plan to deport him to the US. Presumably, the US military will pick up the discharge process where it left off and I doubt Mr. King's detour will reflect favorably on him:

North Korea to deport US soldier Travis King who crossed from South Korea

North Korea’s official news agency reported that King crossed because he harbored ‘ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination’ within the US Army.
travis
King bolted into the North in July while on a tour of the southern side of an inter-Korean truce village [Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo]
Published On 27 Sep 202327 Sep 2023

North Korea will deport an American soldier who crossed into the country through the de facto heavily armed Korean border earlier this year.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday that North Korean authorities have finished their questioning of Travis King.

It said that he confessed to illegally entering the North because he harboured “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” within the US Army.

After completing its investigation, the “relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK, under the law of the Republic”, KCNA said, using the North’s formal name.

The agency did not say when authorities plan to expel King.

King bolted into the North in July while on a tour of the southern side of an inter-Korean truce village. He was serving nearly two months in a South Korean prison for assault.

King was released on July 10 and was being sent home to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he could have faced additional military discipline and discharge from the service.

He was escorted as far as customs but left the airport before boarding his plane. It was unclear how he spent the hours until joining the tour in the border village of Panmunjom during which he ran across the border.

The border between the two Koreas is heavily fortified but at the Joint Security Area, the frontier is marked only by a low concrete divider and is relatively easy to cross, despite the presence of soldiers on both sides.

[LadyTevar]

I was just coming to post the BBC News version of this.
Mostly the exact same script, but the BBC News article added one line more:

Pyongyang will deport him having finished its investigation into King's "illegal" entry, state news agency KNCA said.
It did not specify how, when or to where Private King would be expelled - nor what his state of health was.

I'm going to assume the Pvt is in good health, but considering one of the last prisoners was released in a coma?

[wautd]

Man, you know you have failed in life when not even North Korea wants you

[Solauren]

I wonder if the US military will now charge the idiot further?

Technically, he could be considered a defector. In fact, one defector, Charles Jenkins, returned to the U.S. and faced a U.S. military court, pleading guilty to charges of desertion and aiding the enemy.

Because he spent alot of time in a North Korean jail, he only spent 25 days in the brig.

Our idiot private? I doubt he'll be so lucky.

Odds are, the NK have roughed him up, found he was useless, and are sending him back while laughing at the fact he's now probably going to a US military prison for far longer then he would have had he not ran off.

[LadyTevar]

Well... he's ours now.

Travis King in US Custody

US soldier Travis King, who fled from South to North Korea in July, is in American custody after being expelled by Pyongyang, officials say.

Pvt King was transferred into US custody in China before being flown to a US military installation.

The 23-year-old reconnaissance specialist illegally crossed into North Korea in July.
North Korean media said he had fled because of "inhuman treatment" and racism within the US military.

A senior administration official said on Wednesday that after months of "intense diplomacy" Pvt King had been returned to US hands and had spoken to his family.
"We can confirm Pvt King is very happy to be on his way home, and he is very much looking forward to reuniting with his family," the official said.
"We are going to guide him through a re-integration process that will address any medical and emotional concerns and ensure we get him in a good place to reunite with his family."
The official added that the US made no concessions to secure his release.

After being met by US officials in the Chinese border city of Dandong, Pvt King was taken by a state department aircraft to a US airbase in South Korea.
He was expected to return to US soil on Wednesday afternoon, according to state department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

[Broomstick]

I'm going to assume the Pvt is in good health, but considering one of the last prisoners was released in a coma?

That was Otto Warmbier - strictly speaking not a coma but a "vegetative state". Certainly not what we would call conscious. Basically, he would open his eyes for extended periods, then sleep at night, so he was awake but not responsive, as opposed to a coma where one is never awake.

No one - outside of maybe North Korea - knows what happened to the young man. It is possible that his state was unintentional/accidental. Whatever happened, his brain had been deprived of oxygen, causing permanent damage and leaving him in his unconscious state. Examinations/imaging after his arrival in the US showed no sign of broken bones in his skull or neck or any abnormality outside of the brain injury. The North Koreans also sent him home with two disks with MRI scans on them (the elite do have access to such medical equipment so yes, there's no reason to doubt the authenticity of these records) indicating that Warmbier had been in this state since April 2016, and being released to go home in May 2017 had been in that state for over a year. The hospital where he was seen in the US noted that his skin was in excellent condition for someone bedridden for a year, with no sign of breakdown/bedsores. So.... whatever had happened to him the North Koreans did provide care for him up until his release.

So what might have happened? So many possibilities - Warmbier might have attempted suicide, he might have fallen ill (the North Koreans claimed botulism), he might have been neglected to the point of a medical crisis, he might have had a blood clot or something else...

Warmbier's case is an odd one. Other foreign people held by North Korea and subsequently released have described "duress", mistreatment, and neglect of various sorts but when released were conscious and functional. Most duress has been reported as psychological, not physical. Some have even reported humane treatment. Since foreign prisoners are used as political bargaining chips by North Korea they have incentive to NOT beat or otherwise physically abuse such prisoners. You might not get great food if kept as a prisoner in North Korea (hell, they can barely feed their own citizens) and being locked up is never fun but in general foreign prisoners in North Korea aren't physically abused.

So what happened to Warmbier? I am guess that there was either some sort of accident, he had a sudden medical problem (which is possible at any age), maybe a failed suicide attempt, or perhaps a sudden and severe illness. I do not believe his state was a result of deliberate actions by the state holding him, but that would be of no consolation to his parents and family.

Based on what has happened to other people, King was probably interrogated extensively (other former prisoners report extended such sessions leading to sleep deprivation) but not physically abused. He probably didn't get fed a great diet, but that's the lot of pretty much everyone in North Korea. I was expecting him to be released in decent physical condition because that's what usually happens to detained foreigners. King wasn't even accused of "espionage" though he clearly entered North Korea illegally. I'm guessing the North Koreans figured out pretty quick he was a loser with no useful knowledge and decided releasing him for a few international brownie points was the best use of him.

I doubt they care what happens to him next.

Of course, the military proceedings he attempted to evade will resume as soon as he is back in the States, with his "defection" as an aggravating circumstance. I expect he'll be booted out forthwith.