SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has announced that Travis King confessed to illegally crossing into the country due to “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,” according to state media on Wednesday. This marks the first public acknowledgment of the incident by Pyongyang.
The soldier, identified as Private Travis T. King, entered North Korea while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) along the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas. U.S. officials have stated that they believe King intentionally crossed the border.
North Korean investigators have now concluded that King crossed the border intentionally and unlawfully, with the intention of either remaining in North Korea or seeking refuge in a third country, reports the state news agency KCNA.
“During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as he harbored feelings of resentment towards the inhumane maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army,” stated KCNA. “He also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in the DPRK or a third country, citing disillusionment with the unequal American society.”
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Mark Porter and Sonali Paul)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
