US soldier who fled to North Korea to plead guilty to desertion
Written by BBC on August 27, 2024
US soldier Travis King, who fled from South to North Korea before being returned home, will plead guilty to desertion and other charges, his lawyer has said.
The army filed 14 charges against Mr King for the illegal crossing in July 2023. He plans to enter a guilty plea to five charges, including desertion and assault, as part of a plea deal.
“He will plead not guilty to the remaining offenses, which the Army will withdraw and dismiss,” his lawyer Franklin Rosenblatt said in a statement to BBC News.
His plea and sentencing hearing will take place on 20 September at a military base in Fort Bliss, Texas.
“Travis’s guilty plea will be entered at a general court-martial,” Mr Rosenblatt said in an emailed statement on Monday.
“There, he will explain what he did, answer a military judge’s questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced.”
Mr King is grateful to support from his family and friends and to all those who did not “pre-judge” him based on the allegations, the lawyer added.
Charges expected to be dismissed as part of the plea deal include possession of child pornography.
Pvt King has been in the army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of a unit rotation when he crossed into North Korea.
Prior to that incident, he had served two months in detention in South Korea on charges that he had assaulted two people and kicked a police car.
He was released from custody on 10 July – eight days before he crossed the country’s border with Pyongyang.
His release deal was brokered by Swedish officials, who brought Pvt King to North Korea’s border with China.
Little is known about how he was treated in North Korea, why he fled there in the first place, and why Pyongyang expelled him.
The US has said it made no concessions to secure his release.
