US soldier Travis King, who fled into North Korea last year, has been sentenced to 12 months of confinement after pleading guilty to desertion as part of a plea agreement. King, who walked across the border from South Korea into the North in July last year, had been facing 14 charges related to various incidents but pleaded guilty to five charges, including desertion and assault on a noncommissioned officer. The plea deal was accepted by a military judge.
King, who was stationed in South Korea, was supposed to fly back to Texas to face disciplinary hearings after a drunken bar fight and a stay in a South Korean jail but instead joined a DMZ sightseeing trip and crossed the border into North Korea. He was detained by North Korean authorities and accused of defecting to escape mistreatment and racial discrimination in the US Army.
Following an investigation, North Korea decided to expel King in September for illegally intruding into its territory. King’s lawyer, Franklin Rosenblatt, stated that King had faced significant challenges throughout his life, including a difficult upbringing, exposure to criminal environments, and struggles with mental health.
In a statement, the US Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed King’s guilty plea, and the prosecutor, Major Allyson Montgomery, said that the outcome of the court martial reflected the seriousness of King’s offenses. With credit for time served and good behavior, King has been released and will return home.
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