US soldier who fled to North Korea was facing disciplinary action – By Hyung-Jin Kim, Kim Tong-Hyung, Tara Copp and Lolita C. Baldor (The Associated Press) / July 18, 2023
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. It was last updated on July 18, 2023 at 4:13 pm EST with information provided to Military Times from the Army.
SEOUL, South Korea — An American soldier facing military disciplinary actions fled across the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea, U.S. officials said Tuesday, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.
Two U.S. officials said the soldier detained was Private 2nd Class Travis King, a cavalry scout, who had just been released from a South Korean prison where he’d been held on assault charges and was facing additional military disciplinary actions in the United States.
King, who’s in his early 20s, was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, but instead of getting on the plane he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border.
King joined the Army in January 2021, according to service record information Army spokesperson Bryce Dubee provided to Military Times. King was originally assigned to 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division during his Korean Forces rotation. He is currently administratively attached to 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
