US Army Solider Who Fled Into North Korea To Plead Guilty To Desertion

The U.S. Army private who ran into North Korea in 2023 is set to plead guilty to several charges, his lawyer said on Monday.

Travis King will plead guilty in court in September to desertion, assault and disobeying an officer, according to his lawyer. King was in South Korea and due to return to the U.S. when he abruptly fled over the military demarcation line in North Korea in July of 2023. He was arrested by the U.S. military last year after North Korea exiled him for crossing into the country illegally.

King was also accused by a military court of other crimes, including solicitation and possession of child pornography, according to Axios.

“He will plead not guilty to the remaining offenses, which the Army will withdraw and dismiss,” King’s lawyer said on Monday. “Travis’s guilty plea will be entered at a general court-martial. There, he will explain what he did, answer a military judge’s questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced.”

My statement today on U.S. Army Private Travis King’s court-martial pic.twitter.com/jVeGiGdxuq

— Franklin D. Rosenblatt (@frankrosenblatt) August 26, 2024

At the time King fled to North Korea in 2023, he was facing disciplinary action from the Army. He had recently been released from South Korean prison after being arrested for resisting law enforcement and shouting profanities about South Korea.

King was immediately arrested by North Korean officials and later sent to U.S. officials in China, where he was taken into custody and flown back to the U.S. in September 2023.

It is still unclear why King crossed into North Korea. King had sent “unusual” and “bizarre” text messages to his family ahead of the incident in July 2023, a family representative previously said.

“Pvt. King has agreed to plead guilty, however further details are not releasable at this time as the guilty plea is subject to the acceptance by the military judge,” an Army spokesperson told the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation. “King will remain in pretrial confinement.”

(Featured Image Media Credit:  Yohan Cho/Unsplash)

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from the U.S. Army.

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