North Korea has concluded that U.S. soldier Travis King wants refuge there or elsewhere because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the U.S.
The state media report was the North’s first public acknowledgement of the army private’s crossing from South Korea on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily fortified border between the neighbours.
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U.S. officials have said they believe King crossed the border intentionally, and have declined so far to classify him as a prisoner of war.
North Korean investigators have also concluded that King crossed deliberately and illegally, with the intent to stay in the North or in a third country.
The state news agency KCNA said “During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,”
“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.”
King was “kept under control by soldiers of the Korean People’s Army” after his crossing and the investigation was still active, the agency added.
In August, King’s uncle, Myron Gates, told ABC News that his nephew, who is black, was experiencing racism during his military deployment, and that after he spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.
Editor Oloyede Oworu
