Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said King will likely be tortured. A North Korean guard post (top) on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is seen over a South Korean military fence (bottom) from the border city of Paju What is going to happen to him? “They obviously have the upper hand – we care about our men and women who serve,” Korb said. “They could use this as a bargaining chip and say ‘If you want him back you gonna have to take more troops out of South Korea or get rid of this nuclear consultative group’ or something like that,” Lawrence Korb, former US assistant secretary of defence, told Al Jazeera, referring to the Nuclear Consultative Group where leaders of the US and South Korea laid out plans to strengthen US extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threats. Some observers say King’s case could be used as a tool to exercise leverage. But its embassy’s diplomatic staff reportedly have not returned to North Korea since the country imposed a COVID-19 lockdown in early 2020 and ordered all foreigners out. In the past, Sweden, which has an embassy in Pyongyang, provided consular services for other US nationals detained in North Korea. It was not known whether or how the US and North Korea, which have no diplomatic relations, would hold talks.Īs of Wednesday, North Korea’s state media made no mention of the incident. “This will develop in the next several days and hours, and we’ll keep you posted.” “We’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation,” US defence chief Lloyd Austin told a Pentagon news conference, noting he was foremost concerned about the troop’s wellbeing. The US-led United Nations Command said the soldier was believed to be in North Korean custody. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US government was working with North Korean counterparts to “resolve this incident”. She added she just wants “him to come home”. She said she last heard from her son “a few days ago”, when he told her he would return soon to Fort Bliss. Gates said the US army told her on Tuesday morning of her son’s entrance to North Korea. King’s mother told ABC News she was shocked when she heard her son had crossed into North Korea: “I can’t see Travis doing anything like that,” Claudine Gates, of Racine, Wisconsin, said. But a number of US officials provided additional details on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The army released his name and limited information after King’s family was notified. The 23-year-old soldier was a cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division. It was unclear how he spent the hours until joining a tour in the border village of Panmunjom during which he ran across the border on Tuesday afternoon. He was escorted as far as customs but left the airport before boarding his plane. He was released on July 10 and was being sent home on Monday to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he could have faced additional military discipline and discharge from the service. King was serving nearly two months in a South Korean prison for assault. Here is everything you need to know: What happened? US officials believe Travis King is now being held in custody. The already strained ties between the United States and North Korea have become even more complicated following a bizarre incident involving a US soldier illegally crossing into the northern peninsula.
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