Travis King returned to the US in September this year.
Travis King, the American soldier who fled to North Korea in July, has been charged by the US military with desertion and solicitation and possession of sexual images of a child. BBC said. The charges also reportedly include assault on fellow soldiers. Travis King had returned to the US in September and was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas – the same place where US basketball star Brittney Griner was evaluated after being released by Russia in December 2022.
Private King illegally entered North Korea in July while touring a border village, the BBC report said. Pyongyang eventually released him without providing further details.
Although the US military has not officially said anything about the matter, it appears he faces eight charges, including disobedience to a superior officer. CNN.
The 23-year-old was being held at Fort Bliss, Texas, on Wednesday, the newspaper further said, citing a source familiar with the case who said he is being held in pre-trial detention.
Private King’s mother, Claudine Gates, released a statement saying she loves her son “unconditionally” and is “extremely concerned about his mental health.”
“As a mother, I ask that my son be given the presumption of innocence,” Gates said CNN.
“A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed. The Army promised to investigate what happened at Camp Humphries, and I await the results,” she added.
Private King was serving in the U.S. Army when he crossed the North Korean border. He had been in the military since January 2021 and was stationed in South Korea as part of a rotation.
His border crossing sent relations between the two Koreas to one of their lowest points ever, with diplomacy at a standstill and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for more weapons development, including tactical nuclear warheads.
About half a dozen American soldiers made a rare defect to the North after the Korean War and were used in the country’s propaganda.
