And then what?, US soldiers stationed in South Korea flee to North Korea | US soldiers | soldiers

After serving nearly two months in South Korea and just being released, he suddenly crossed the border and broke into North Korea Recently, the eerie behavior of a US military stationed in South Korea has attracted widespread attention.

According to Reuters, on the 18th local time, an American broke into North Korea while visiting the joint security zone located in Panmunjom on the North Korean border with a delegation in the afternoon. Subsequently, confirmed by US Secretary of Defense Austin, this person was US soldier Travis King and is facing US military disciplinary action.

The US military stationed in South Korea defined the soldier's behavior as "intentionally crossing the military demarcation line into North Korea without authorization.".

The Governor of Chang'an Street noticed that when the US military stationed in South Korea crossed the border and entered North Korea, it coincided with the first meeting of the South Korea US Nuclear Consultative Group, and the US strategic nuclear submarine had docked in South Korea 42 years later. According to Reuters analysis, this extremely rare event may bring new challenges to the already tense relations on the peninsula.

Just released before fleeing

According to foreign media reports, Travis King is a 23 year old Private in the Army and enlisted in January 2021. A spokesperson for the US Army stated that he was initially assigned to the US First Armored Division and is now administratively subordinate to the Fourth Infantry Division.

On the 18th local time, Jin, who was deported back to his home country due to disciplinary issues, was supposed to board a flight to Texas as planned. The flight was scheduled to depart at 5:40 pm. Upon arrival, military personnel will pick him up and escort him to Fort Bliss. But after customs and escorts separated at Incheon International Airport, he managed to escape from the terminal.

According to Reuters, an unnamed official stated that Travis King arrived at the boarding gate alone through security checks, falsely claiming to have lost his passport and evaded boarding. He quietly joined a private tour group to visit Panmunjom on the South Korean border on Tuesday morning.

For safety reasons, such trips usually require a reservation of at least 72 hours in advance, and it is currently unknown how Travis King joined in.

According to a report by the Associated Press on the 20th, a fellow tourist in the tour group described that Jin was wearing casual jeans and a T-shirt on the same day, and initially acted like an ordinary tourist without any abnormal behavior. Just as the visit was coming to an end and everyone was taking photos as a memento, Jin suddenly began to run quickly.

"I heard a soldier shouting, 'Get that guy!'" The tourist said that before the guards caught him, Jin had already crossed the border and the entire process only took a few seconds.

"President Biden has received a briefing on this matter." After the incident, White House spokesperson Karina Jean Pierre responded that US officials from the Pentagon, State Department, and United Nations are all working to "gather more information and resolve the situation," and it is still too early to determine the exact motive of the US soldier.

In the eyes of Travis King's family, his actions were indeed difficult to understand.

"If he had a clear mind, he wouldn't have intentionally done this," according to the Associated Press, Kim's family believes that he is currently facing a judicial dispute and is highly likely to be expelled from the military. Jin's uncle even suspects that he currently has a mental illness.

According to his family, Travis King was a quiet and solitary person who did not drink or smoke. He enjoyed reading the Bible and joined the military out of a desire to serve his country.

However, a judgment record obtained by the Associated Press presents a completely different situation. According to records, in February this year, Kim was fined 5 million Korean won for attacking unidentified individuals and damaging police cars in Seoul in October last year. In addition, he was also accused of assaulting a 23-year-old South Korean man at a nightclub in Seoul, which once made headlines in South Korean media after the incident.

The report quoted US officials as saying that Kim was detained in South Korea for a period of time and was just released on July 10th.

"The United States is the 'second party' seeking North Korea."

According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean headquarters is coordinating with the North Korean military to resolve this matter. But the security units on duty within the joint security zone are under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Command. In case of any emergency, the security units must report to the United Nations Command, not the South Korean army. In view of this, the matter of returning the cross-border personnel needs to be resolved through consultation between North Korea and the United States.

"We are still learning the facts, and I want to make it clear that the government has been and will continue to actively work to ensure his safety and bring him back to his family." According to the Associated Press, on the 19th local time, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a press conference that the Pentagon has conveyed relevant information to the soldier's family. The White House, Pentagon, State Department, and the United Nations are continuing to cooperate on this matter to understand the soldier's health and whereabouts.

He added that the US has attempted to contact the North Korean People's Army to discuss the issue of the US soldiers who invaded North Korea, but has not yet received a response. "In this situation, discussing this matter is very sensitive, and the US State Department has contacted colleagues from South Korea and Sweden on this issue."

According to The Washington Post, in recent decades, at least six American soldiers have chosen to defect to North Korea, with all but one crossing the demilitarized zone. According to reports, former US officials have stated that Washington may not be able to release Kim as he voluntarily entered the country.

"Although this person has a low level, he still has some potential information that can be shared," said Evans Rivell, a former senior official at the US State Department. As a cavalry scout, Kim may be familiar with many sensitive military operations information, such as detailed information about US command and control departments or priorities for his troops. Although it is unlikely to be directly related to sensitive information such as war plans or combat deployment details, "this is still a stimulus, inconvenience, and embarrassment for the United States.".

Professor Jin Rongxuan from the Department of North Korean Studies at Dongguo University stated in an interview with Yonhap that the United States is seeking North Korea's "second party" in the issue of releasing people.

Recently, the United States and South Korea have been constantly moving militarily in response to the North Korean nuclear threat. According to Jin Rongxuan's analysis, even if North Korea and the United States engage in contact due to the aforementioned US military incident in South Korea, the possibility of discussing denuclearization issues is very slim. However, this may become an opportunity to break the deadlock in North Korea US dialogue.

As of now, the North Korean side has not responded to the incident.