2023-07-22 15:37:31
He American soldier Travis King was doing a tourist tour along the border between South Korea y North Korea when he decided run across the demilitarized zone towards one of the most hermetic countries in the world. to the cry of “atrápenlo” they tried to stop him, but it was too late. What happened next? There is a lot of mystery around the subject, but by some witnesses some details are known.
One day before crossing into North Korea, the junior soldier assigned to the United States Armed Forces in Korea, he was about to board a plane to his country of origin. There, he had to face disciplinary measuresthe product of a series of charges filed in South Korea.
He never boarded, and the next day, while on a tour inside the DMZ, King inexplicably escaped across the demarcation line to the country governed by Kim Jong-un.
US soldier detained after crossing North Korea border without permission
Unlike most of the heavily fortified area, the border line within the Joint Security Area There is no physical barrier between the two Koreas, which allowed the soldier to cross it just by running.
“When I saw him, he was running very fast, and then one of the US soldiers said ‘get him’. The other Americans and the South Koreans ran after him,” explained Sarah Leslie, who was part of the tourist group inside the area. And she added: “But they didn’t catch him, and at that moment he was already very close to the border.”
Soldiers from both countries have prohibited from crossing the border with North Koreaas established by the armistice protocols that ended the Korean War in 1953, so they could not enter to look for King.
Travis King, the soldier who crossed into North Korea.
The soldier initially tried to enter a North Korean facility, one of the US officials said, but the front door was locked. Then he ran to the back and at that moment North Korean guards put him in a van and took him away.
“When I saw that he was advancing, i thought i was crazy. He had no idea at the time that he was a soldier. I couldn’t think of why anyone would want to do something like thissays Leslie, adding, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone run that fast.”
Currently, the US authorities do not know the whereabouts of Travis King, although they believe that he is being held in North Korea, and say be “very concerned” about the treatment they are receiving.
North Koreans denounced that they are “starving” while Kim Jong Un reinforces his nuclear arsenal
Go back to the United States or cross into North Korea?
The young Travis King, 23 years old, had to return to USA to face disciplinary action. A fight in a bar, an altercation with the police and a stint in a South Korean jail would lead him to be discharged from the army when I got to Fort Bliss, Texas.
The day before crossing the border, King should have boarded a plane that would transport him to his country of origin. To get to Incheon Airport in Seoulthe soldier sent a message to his US military supervisors to inform them that he had arrived at their gate and was preparing to board the plane.
His escorts were unable to accompany him to the gate to verify that he had boarded, and just before leaving, King took advantage of the situation to inform the airline workers that his passport was missing and he did not take the plane.
The border between North Korea and South Korea, one of the most fortified in the world.
“He went through all the security checks to the departure gate, but he told the airline staff that his passport was missing,” an Incheon airport official told CNN. Staff then escorted him back outside the departure area, the official said.
The soldier I had already booked a visit for Tuesday with a private company from the Joint Security Area inside the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea.
What will happen to Travis King?
After being captured by North Korean soldiers, little is known about the whereabouts and current status of Travis King. According to US officials, the military has attempted to contact the North Korean government directly to resolve the issue, but has yet to receive a response.
“We’re putting all the facts together, it’s still too early,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “The administration has worked and will continue to work actively to ensure their safety and the return of Private King us and his family,” he added.
Executions, human experiments and “dwarf list”: Fierce report on North Korea
The United States believes he is still in North Korean custody, but they have no details about his well-being. The administration is working with the government of South KoreaWith Sweden, in the matter, as mentioned by Jean-Pierre. Sweden generally represents US interests in North Korea, because there are no diplomatic ties between the White House and Kim Jong-un’s regime.
The length of King’s stay will depend on whether the North Koreans find a way to use your story for your own propagandaaccording to Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and director of the North Korea-focused website 38 North.
“If they decide it’s not a good story, they may just return it so as not to worsen the already fragile relations (with the United States),” Town estimated. “To a large extent, this is wait and see, as there is very little precedent for this,” she added.
Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of North Korea.
For his part, for Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea, it is highly unlikely that North Korea would pass up the propaganda value of a US soldier who entered the country voluntarily. In addition, he noted that Pyongyang could also look for opportunities to use it as currency and thus obtain concessions from Washington.
To do this, North Korea may require the United States to reduce its military activities in South Korea, in exchange for King’s release. It should be noted that, from 2022, the US increased its deployment of assets such as bombers and nuclear submarines as a show of force against the threat from North Korea.
According to Yang, North Korea’s goal would be to create a dilemma for Washington by “choosing between strengthening the nuclear deterrence strategies between the United States and South Korea and protecting their own citizen”. “That would pose challenges for South Korea, which has focused on strengthening nuclear deterrence strategies with the United States,” he added.
Missile tension: South Korea concerned that North Korea does not answer daily calls
Meanwhile, Pyongyang continues strengthening its weapons potential and this week it has already launched “several cruise missiles” into the Yellow Sea, located between China and the Korean peninsula, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. These launches came three days after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, off the peninsula’s eastern coast.
Las Inter-Korean relations are in one of the worst moments, With diplomacy long stalled, leader Kim Jong-un called for speeding up the development of his arsenal, including nuclear weapons.
North Korean weapons.
Americans who crossed into North Korea
Unauthorized crossings between one of the world’s most secure borders, which divides North Korea from South Korea, are few and far between. Among the few Americans who have crossed into North Korea in the past are deserted soldiers, missionaries, human rights defenders or just curious people.
Among the defectors are Charles Jenkins or James Dresnok, who crossed in the 1960s and were treated as propaganda material, featured in pamphlets and films that fueled hatred of the United States and praise of the Northern regime.
Jenkins’ case is very different from King’s, as he crossed into North Korea in 1965 to avoid combat service in Vietnam, making it easy for Pyongyang to portray him as a disillusioned soldier who escaped the clutches of evil imperialists to choose to live in the “socialist paradise” of North Korea. Unlike the current one, that he had legal problems and would face disciplinary actions upon arrival in the US.
Other Americans were not so lucky and were detained, criticized and given harsh sentences based on confessions of anti-regime activities that they later they claimed they had been forced. After lengthy negotiations, the detainee was released and often returned home along with a senior US official who traveled to Pyongyang to secure his release.
LT
#Catch #details #soldiers #crossing #North #Korea