North Korean state-run media KCNA commented publicly for the first time in a statement Tuesday on an American soldier who crossed into the country illegally in July, NBC News reported.
Private 2nd Class Travis King was detained by North Korea after crossing the demarcation line into the country without authorization in July. He had recently been released after serving time in a South Korean prison on assault charges, the Associated Press reported. King was reportedly facing military disciplinary actions in America.
“Travis King admitted that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK,” the outlet said, NBC News reported. (RELATED: ‘Conversation’ Started With North Korea Over Fate Of US Soldier, UN Says)
The outlet claimed that King “confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
North Korea claimed detained U.S. soldier Travis King had said he faced inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination from the U.S. Army and expressed a desire to “seek refuge” in the Kim Jong Un regime https://t.co/nh2Q0ACURR
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 15, 2023
“He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country,” the outlet claimed, NBC News reported.
King’s mother said he sent his family strange text messages and videos before disappearing. King sent his family the music video for “Slang That Iron” by YNW Melley, which depicts someone carrying out a mass shooting. His family said he also sent them a text message which led them to believe that he had been experiencing racism.
CBS News reported in July that King ran across the border laughing in what one onlooker described as a “bad joke.” King’s mother has rejected reports that he crossed the border intentionally.