US shocked by troop flight to North Korea

The United States is shocked by the escape of a soldier to North Korea, one of the most closed countries in the world and described as a “dictatorship” by the West.

The United Nations Command (UNC) in South Korea announced that a US soldier crossed the border without permission during a visit to Panmunjom, the de facto border village between South and North Korea. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “We believe he is in custody in North Korea. We are very concerned that she is okay,” he said, adding that they were trying to shed light on the mysterious event.

Authorities announced that the soldier who escaped was Private Travis King, a rank 2nd class.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean Pierre noted that Pentagon, State Department and United Nations officials are working to resolve the issue. While experts say North Korea will use the event for propaganda purposes, different claims about why the US soldier fled to North Korea are controversial.

IMPRISONED IN SOUTH KOREA

Authorities reported that the soldier was not in custody at the time of the incident and fled to North Korea by voluntarily crossing the border. In statements to the Associated Press news agency, two US officials announced that the soldier was Travis King, a second class rank. King has just been released from prison in South Korea, where he was held on assault charges, and faces further disciplinary charges in the United States.

“I don’t understand why Travis would do something like that,” said King’s mother, Claudine Gates, saying she couldn’t believe it.

The soldier, in his 20s, was recorded as having been escorted to the airport to return to the Fort Bliss base in Texas, but instead of boarding the plane, the soldier left the airport and took a tour of the town of Panmunjom on the korean route. border and voluntarily crossed the border without permission.

The border between the two countries is one of the most tense places in the world, as North and South Korea are still technically at war.

NOT THE FIRST US MILITARY TO ESCAPE TO NORTH KOREA

The crisis comes at a time when tensions are rising as North Korea tests ballistic missiles and the United States sends “one of the world’s largest submarines” to South Korea.

According to the Voice of America report, Jenny Town, head of the Washington-based observation project 38 North, noted that it is important that the military voluntarily cross into North Korea, saying: “It is important if North Korea accepts it as a deserter. The last American to defect was turned away and sent back.” The person Town was referring to was Arturo Pierre Martinez of El Paso, Texas. Martinez gave a lecture denouncing US policy in entering North Korea in 2014.

The number of asylum cases in North Korea, which is isolated by the international community, is quite low. Flights from North Korea to South Korea have increased recently.

The US State Department is warning its citizens not to enter North Korea due to the risk of prolonged detention. In 2015, American college student Otto Warmbier was detained while touring the country, released from North Korea while in a coma, and died in 2017, days after being taken to the United States.

After the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, some American soldiers fled to North Korea, which was ruled by the communist regime. Some were accused of being spies, while others said they sought refuge in North Korea to escape difficult military missions.