US Soldier Captured Crossing N Korea Border

[LadyTevar]

What BBC Knows So Far

TL:DR
Private 2nd Class Travis King, on his way back to the States for punitive outprocessing due to assault charges in S. Korea, slipped his handlers, somehow managed to join a DMZ Border Tour, and once he was at a place he could make a run for it, started laughing and took off, vanishing across the DMZ into N. Korea territory.
At this time he is believed to be in N Korea custody. Pte King had joined the US Army in 2021, and was a Cavalry Recon Scout with an element of the 1st Armored Div, on rotation to S. Korea.


My Thoughts:
WTF was he thinking? Did he think that N Korea might be nicer than Leavenworth?
It doesn't say what kind of "assault" he was being dismissed for, so it could be starting a fight or sexual abuse, but it was serious enough for him to be dismissed from post, and sent back to the US for out-processing.

Either way, he's caused a major incident, Biden's going to have to try to get his worthless ass safely out of N Korea while N Korea will be trying to wring every bit of US Military knowledge out of King's head while also gleefully enjoying tying the US and S Korea in knots.
If it weren't for the knowledge in King's head, I'd say leave him to suffer. King was probably still in school and never heard what happened to the LAST US citizen trapped in N. Korea.
"In 2018, the North released an American college student, Otto Warmbier, who had been imprisoned for stealing a hotel sign. He returned to the US in a coma and later died."

I do not foresee Pte King returning to the US anytime in the next 3months, and maybe not even 6months. We might not get him back even as a body to bury.

[Solauren]

Yeah, North Korea isn't going to be nice to the guy.

Hopefully, he doesn't really know anything useful. That might make the N.K 'question' him more 'intensely'.

[aerius]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Might even win a Darwin if he keeps choosing poorly.

[Highlord Laan]

Yeah, North Korea isn't going to be nice to the guy.

Hopefully, he doesn't really know anything useful. That might make the N.K 'question' him more 'intensely'.

He's a fucking Private. He's militarily worthless unless Kim Jong years for knowledge of how to disassemble an M4 Carbine.

Drag his worthless hide back to the States so the Army can see him hung at his training bases' parade ground.

[Ralin]

Clearly we need to build the wall higher until Americans stop trying to escape to North Korea.

[LadyTevar]

More info on Pte King

Private 2nd Class (PV2) King was reportedly investigated for assault in South Korea in September 2022. According to local media, Pte King was suspected of punching a Korean national in a nightclub in Seoul.
He was fined 5m won (£,3,000; $3,950) for "repeatedly kicking" the back door of a police car and screamed "foul language" at the officers trying to apprehend him.
Local reports quoting officials said he was released on 10 July after serving two months in jail on assault charges, but did not elaborate.

After his release, he was placed under military observation for about a week in South Korea.
He was escorted to the airport in Incheon, near Seoul, for a flight back to the United States, where he was to face disciplinary action.
But he did not board the plane. The Korea Times, quoting an airport official, said he arrived at the boarding gate alone as military police officers were not allowed to accompany him all the way to the plane.

At the gate, he reportedly approached an American Airlines official and claimed his passport had gone missing. An airline employee then escorted him out of the departures area.
After parting ways with his escort, he is reported to have left the terminal to embark on a tour of the Demilitarised Zone, or DMZ, between North and South Korea, where foreigners can visit via tour companies.

It is not clear how Pte King managed to get on one of these tours, as it usually takes between three days and a week for an individual to be authorised on one of these trips, which are usually closely monitored.

SO... comedy of errors here.
1. The AIRPORT did not allow the MPs to escort him all the way to the plane, like they should have done.
2. American Airlines kicked him out of the departures area for claiming he had no passport.
3. The DMZ Tour did not do a proper accounting of paying customers, and let him tag along.

Not only that, assaulting S Korean national at a bar, assaulting Korean police officers, and looks like the US allowed him to stay in a S Korean jail for two months (perhaps because they were quietly working out getting him home without further embarrassement).

Sounds like a guy who should never have been in the military in the first place.

[Broomstick]

My Thoughts:
WTF was he thinking? Did he think that N Korea might be nicer than Leavenworth?

I'm assuming this yahoo is not a particularly deep thinker, I don't think he's given to introspection, and might have poor impulse control. In other words: "it seemed like a good idea at the time" sort of scenario.

It doesn't say what kind of "assault" he was being dismissed for, so it could be starting a fight or sexual abuse, but it was serious enough for him to be dismissed from post, and sent back to the US for out-processing.

CNN got some information from South Korean court documents that included two accusations of assault in the last year and at least one fine. Last October he apparently started punching someone after he was refused a drink in a night club, was put into the back of a South Korean police car at which point he started bad-mouthing the Korean police, the Korean army, and Korea in general while causing the equivalent of a couple hundred dollars worth of damage to the patrol car interior. This guy is not going to win any diplomacy awards, that's for sure. An earlier assault charge was dropped when the victim declined to press charges, apparently.

Like I said, my impression is this is a guy with poor impulse control and anger issues. Yeah, I'm sure that's going to work out well for him in North Korea.

Either way, he's caused a major incident, Biden's going to have to try to get his worthless ass safely out of N Korea while N Korea will be trying to wring every bit of US Military knowledge out of King's head while also gleefully enjoying tying the US and S Korea in knots.
If it weren't for the knowledge in King's head, I'd say leave him to suffer.

Given his low rank it is extremely unlikely he has anything of use to anyone. Sure, he could probably relay some very basic stuff, but it's unlikely to be anything the North Koreans don't already know or couldn't easily find out on their own.

I'd be OK with letting him rot. If he doesn't want to face the consequences of his criminal actions in the US sure and has chosen to run into hostile territory why not let him reap what he sowed? His mama will be very upset, of course, but I don't think he'll be a loss to our nation as a whole. Good riddance.

Well... except my human decency doesn't want to leave anyone in the clutches of the Kim regime. Damn, I guess we have to try to save his worthless ass after all.

King was probably still in school and never heard what happened to the LAST US citizen trapped in N. Korea.
"In 2018, the North released an American college student, Otto Warmbier, who had been imprisoned for stealing a hotel sign. He returned to the US in a coma and later died."

[Nitpick] Warmbier was not the most recent American to be held in North Korea. That distinction belongs to one Bruce Byron Lowrance who entered from China into North Korean in October 2018, and released in November 2018, apparently unharmed (physically). Warmbier entered North Korean in January 2016 and was shipped back to the US in June of 2017 and died shortly thereafter.

I do not foresee Pte King returning to the US anytime in the next 3months, and maybe not even 6months. We might not get him back even as a body to bury.

Mr. King was enough of a dumbass to run directly into a country that his country is still technically at war with. Play stupid games, win stupid prices.

[Zaune]

Well, this one's going to be a cautionary tale for young squaddies in Basic and no mistake. At least the second half of this dimwit's misadventures, because I'm fairly sure dozens if not hundreds of soldiers do stupid shit while drunk and get summoned to appear before a court martial without having a panic attack and defecting to someone.

[LadyTevar]

And now we get to something I heard on the radio while using the company vehicle to transfer books between the local library branches --

The US has no embassey in N. Korea.

Those allied nations that DO have Embassies in N Korea, have not had them STAFFED since N. Korea shut its borders due to COVID.

Finally, N Korea has yet to acknowledge there's even a US Soldier inside its borders. They've been Radio Silent on the whole incident.



Now, no US Embassey is not surprising considering the ongoing eminity from the Kim Regime.
No ALLIED Embasseys is a problem, because now there's no one who can act as an intermediary to confirm Pt. King's situation, and work on the US's behalf to get him home.

But Kim's Regime being totally Radio Silent about a US Solider within its borders? Not even saber-rattling? Nitram would say his "Suspicious Bastard" was tingling. Something is wrong here, Kim should have been gloating all over this.

[Broomstick]

The US has no embassey in N. Korea.

Nope. We've never had an embassy in North Korea as far as I know.

Last couple of times Sweden acted on our behalf. But...

Those allied nations that DO have Embassies in N Korea, have not had them STAFFED since N. Korea shut its borders due to COVID.

Pesky pandemic.

Now, no US Embassey is not surprising considering the ongoing eminity from the Kim Regime.
No ALLIED Embasseys is a problem, because now there's no one who can act as an intermediary to confirm Pt. King's situation, and work on the US's behalf to get him home.

But Kim's Regime being totally Radio Silent about a US Solider within its borders? Not even saber-rattling? Nitram would say his "Suspicious Bastard" was tingling. Something is wrong here, Kim should have been gloating all over this.

Either that, or they don't know what the fuck they want to do with him yet.

Pretty safe to say no one expected that one.

[Bedlam]

Either that, or they don't know what the fuck they want to do with him yet.

Or they haven't found him yet, or he stepped on a mine or fell off a cliff or something.

He' s only believed to be in custody and I don't see anything which says why this is believed just that he crossed the border and hasn't been seen since.

[Broomstick]

Either that, or they don't know what the fuck they want to do with him yet.

Or they haven't found him yet, or he stepped on a mine or fell off a cliff or something.

He' s only believed to be in custody and I don't see anything which says why this is believed just that he crossed the border and hasn't been seen since.

Witnesses who were in the tour group report that North Koreans came up to him as he was running around on their side of the line and loaded him into a van. They've got him in custody. Or so said CNN yesterday. cite

[LaCroix]

I am wondering why the US would have a dire need to get him back.
Apart from it being nice to get him back to court-martial him even harder for defection...

I get it if he were some abductee or accidentally got there and got caught... but he defected.
In all prior cases, people wound up in NK on accident or got captured. This guy fled into NK.
There is no need to rescue him, since he wanted to go there...
And he is a 23 year old who was in the army for almost 2 years, and didn't even make it to 1st class - you get that pretty much for being able to walk a straight line... He was pretty much flying home for a discharge, but he'd probably have gotten away with a kick in the butt and a entry in his record.
Now he's looking at jailtime if he returns to the US.

He is nothing but a muppet with a gun, not even a specialist in anything, there are no secrets he could possess apart from how to make a bed and tie his shoelaces according to regulation (and pretty sure he can't do that right, since he's still a PV2 after all that time).
Boy, he is going to be in deep shit when the Norks realize that he's pretty much worthless, and all the diplo stress is not getting them anything. They probably are going to toss him back over the line in a few days.

This is not a rescue, it is an arrest warrant.

[Ralin]

I am wondering why the US would have a dire need to get him back.
Apart from it being nice to get him back to court-martial him even harder for defection...

People will get all upset if it comes out that he's being mistreated or something. And they don't want to leave soldiers in North Korea just on general principles.

They probably are going to toss him back over the line in a few days.

Honestly wouldn't be shocked if it boils down to that.

[Broomstick]

I am wondering why the US would have a dire need to get him back.

Politics.

The rabid right will cry and whine about "no man left behind" and try to use this against the Biden administration.

There is no need to rescue him, since he wanted to go there...

There are people who jump off the Golden Gate bridge because they want to do that. We still try to rescue them.

Boy, he is going to be in deep shit when the Norks realize that he's pretty much worthless, and all the diplo stress is not getting them anything. They probably are going to toss him back over the line in a few days.

What stress? The North Koreans haven't even acknowledged they have him. I'm sure they have people that monitor outside media that have read all the stuff that's been published over the past few days.

The only stress going on in North Korea over this is the dumbass realizing he just made the biggest mistake of his life. I'm certain he's already gotten his complementary welcome beating. He'll get worse the first time he mouths off to them, as I'm sure he will sooner or later (probably sooner).

They might not even bother to toss him back over the line. He might just disappear forever into the Hermit Kingdom.

[LadyTevar]

While we know that he was seen being bundled into a van and driven off... we also know that he trashed a police car in Seoul and abused the policemen. I do not doubt if he wanted to put up a fight, he could and would be able to escape. N Korean soldiers are physically no match for a well-fed, well-trained beligerent who is determined to get free. They're used to people who don't resist, who are in worse shape than they are.

[Ralin]

While we know that he was seen being bundled into a van and driven off... we also know that he trashed a police car in Seoul and abused the policemen. I do not doubt if he wanted to put up a fight, he could and would be able to escape. N Korean soldiers are physically no match for a well-fed, well-trained beligerent who is determined to get free. They're used to people who don't resist, who are in worse shape than they are.

They're soldiers. The South Korean policemen were cops who were likely hesitant to buy themselves the complications that come from getting rough with a US soldier/obvious foreigner. He's one guy. Who we have no reason to believe is particularly good at hand to hand fighting. I wouldn't put a lot of stock into stereotypes about how North Korea soldiers are pussies changing that equation.

I would go so far as to say that they probably have more experience stopping someone trying to escape the country than their American and South Korean counterparts.

[bilateralrope]

While we know that he was seen being bundled into a van and driven off... we also know that he trashed a police car in Seoul and abused the policemen. I do not doubt if he wanted to put up a fight, he could and would be able to escape. N Korean soldiers are physically no match for a well-fed, well-trained beligerent who is determined to get free. They're used to people who don't resist, who are in worse shape than they are.

What stops them gunning him down as he runs ?

[LadyTevar]

While we know that he was seen being bundled into a van and driven off... we also know that he trashed a police car in Seoul and abused the policemen. I do not doubt if he wanted to put up a fight, he could and would be able to escape. N Korean soldiers are physically no match for a well-fed, well-trained beligerent who is determined to get free. They're used to people who don't resist, who are in worse shape than they are.

What stops them gunning him down as he runs ?

Lack of ammo?

More seriously, What would happen to them if they kill him before their Superiors get to see him.

[Ralin]

More seriously, What would happen to them if they kill him before their Superiors get to see him.

Who knows? They presumably have rules and procedures for that sort of thing which soldiers stationed at the border are aware of. That's generally how armies work.

How do you suppose their superiors would react if they embarrassed everyone by getting beaten up by some yahoo who ran across the border, and then that yahoo ran back across or off in some random direction?

[Broomstick]

What stops them gunning him down as he runs ?

Absolutely nothing.

Lack of ammo?

North Korean soldiers might lack food from time to time but they never seem to lack ammo. More than one person has been shot trying to cross the DMZ from North to South.

[LadyTevar]

Well, we can keep guessing all we want. Until Kim decides to put it out on TV (internal or external) what's going on, we have no way of knowing. Pt King is Schrodinger's Cat right now.

[bilateralrope]

While we know that he was seen being bundled into a van and driven off... we also know that he trashed a police car in Seoul and abused the policemen. I do not doubt if he wanted to put up a fight, he could and would be able to escape. N Korean soldiers are physically no match for a well-fed, well-trained beligerent who is determined to get free. They're used to people who don't resist, who are in worse shape than they are.

What stops them gunning him down as he runs ?

Lack of ammo?

More seriously, What would happen to them if they kill him before their Superiors get to see him.

My guess is that they wouldn't report having encountered him.

[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.

[Broomstick]

North Korean Victory Day?

Such visits between Russia and North Korea were relatively common before covid, even more so before the fall of the USSR.