As information about the potential defector started to emerge, the White House made contact with North Korea to try and bring the American soldier who was spotted running across the military line on Tuesday home.
During a press conference on board Air Force One, Olivia Dalton, the senior deputy press secretary, stated that White House representatives continue to maintain regular touch with representatives from Sweden and South Korea as well as the Defense, State, and UN departments.
US Army Contacts North Korea Over Missing Soldier
I can tell you that as of this morning, we have made contact with the [Korean People’s Army] via a number of different channels in an effort to learn more about that information and gain a better understanding of the situation.
About exactly what has happened here at this time, we’re still looking for further information.
To find him and return him to his native country as soon as possible, according to Dalton, is the country’s aim.
Travis T. King, 23, was a cavalry scout assigned to the First Brigade Combat Team, First Armored Division, according to the US Army, which has confirmed that he enlisted in the military in January 2021. Second-class private was his level of rank.
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US Soldier’s Departure From South Korea
On July 10, the CBC reported that King, who had been detained in South Korea on assault-related allegations, had been freed.
According to court records obtained by NBC News, he shouted obscenities about Koreans and the Korean army, caused hundreds of dollars’ worth of damage to a police car, and was also arrested.
On Monday, he was being transported back to his home in Texas’ Fort Bliss, where he most certainly would have been released from the military and subject to further disciplinary measures.
He had been driven to the airport and escorted till customs, but he eventually departed the area rather than boarding his flight home.
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