In this photo taken in Seoul on August 16, 2023, a man walks past a television showing a news broadcast with a photo of US soldier Travis King (C), who ran across the border into North Korea while in from a tour group visiting the capital. Demilitarized zone on the border of South Korea on July 18.
Anthony Wallace | AFP | Getty Images
North Korea said Wednesday it will expel Travis King, the American Army soldier who deliberately crossed the border into the isolated country this summer.
King, 23, crossed the border on July 18 while touring the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
A statement from state news agency KCNA said King would be “deported” at an unspecified time, news agencies said. No details were given about the destination of the American soldier, who was stationed in South Korea.
The statement added that King had confessed to “illegally” entering North Korean territory and that he harbored “bad feelings about inhumane treatment” and racial discrimination within the U.S. military.
The US has not yet responded to these claims.
Before crossing the border, King had not long been released from a South Korean prison and was escorted by the military to Incheon International Airport near Seoul, where he may face further disciplinary action in the US.
A senior administration official told NBC News in July that King had instead joined a commercial tour group headed to the Joint Security Area, a U.N.-administered area between the North and South.
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