UN Talking With NKorea About Detained US Private

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Facts

  • On Monday, Gen. Andrew Harrison, deputy commander of the UN Command, said the UN has made contact with North Korea to secure the return of US soldier Travis King.1
  • Harrison said talks had begun under a process established by the Korean War armistice.2
  • However, Harrison would not go into details about when talks started, how much contact has been made, or what the US knows about King’s condition.3
  • King, a 23-year-old Army private, has been held in North Korea since last Tuesday when he crossed the border while on a tour of the Joint Security Area, which is part of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.4
  • Previously, King had been held by the US Army at a facility in South Korea for 47 days while waiting to be flown to Texas for disciplinary actions and a possible discharge over two alleged assaults.4
  • North Korean state media has so far remained silent on this incident.2

Sources: 1FOX News, 2Reuters, 3CBS, and 4Wall Street Journal.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Pres. Biden is so weak on North Korea policy that the Communist country doesn’t even bother to answer calls from the Sec. of State — whether it’s about King or talks over the country’s nuclear program. In fact, North Korea’s response to the US has been to just test more missiles. Biden's woke and ineffective policies have made the US less safe, and King is now in peril because of the lack of respect North Korea has for the US.
  • Left narrative, as provided by NBC. The US doesn’t have embassy relations with North Korea because it rightfully doesn’t want to legitimize an oppressive regime that has threatened nuclear action against the US and beyond. Under the circumstances, the Biden admin. is doing everything it can to bring King home, because that’s what the UN Command was set up to do. North Korea is launching missiles because it’s scared, not because it’s lost respect for the US.