US Soldier Who Fled to NKorea Walks Free After Guilty Plea

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Facts

  • A military judge at Fort Bliss sentenced US Army Private Travis King — who last year ran into North Korea — to 12 months' confinement on Friday, and declared him free based on time already served.[1][2]
  • The court-martial also demoted the cavalry scout to the lowest enlisted rank in the Army (E-1), forfeited his pay and allowances, and dishonorably discharged him.[3][4]
  • This comes after King pleaded guilty to desertion, disobeying a superior commissioned officer, and assault as part of a deal that saw nine other charges dropped — including possession of child pornography.[5][6][3]
  • He claimed dissatisfaction with work prompted him to decide not to fly from South Korea back to Texas on July 17, 2023. The following day he joined a sightseeing tour of the Demilitarized Zone, during which he crossed the border into North Korea.[7][8]
  • King was detained in North Korea for 63 days before being returned to US custody following weeks of negotiation with the support of Sweden. Once in America, he remained in the Otero County jail for 338 days.[6][9][10]
  • King joined the US Army in January 2021 and was assigned to a combat team in South Korea, where he spent time in detention for assault charges in breach of the joint security agreement.[9][10]

Sources: [1]FOX News, [2]Reuters, [3]CNN, [4]The Epoch Times, [5]CBS, [6]www.army.mil, [7]Al Jazeera, [8]Stars and Stripes, [9]New York Times and [10]NBC.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Military.com. King faced a long list of serious charges that could have resulted in a far more severe punishment than he has received. However, the mental stress he was under at the time of his crimes — particularly in the wake of the death of his younger cousin — makes him deserving of this plea agreement. Both the Army and the King family are equally grateful to bring this ordeal to a close.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Red State. This sentence is absurd. A 12-month confinement, already-served, being the only punishment for a soldier who very publicly deserted to North Korea is outrageously lenient, especially given that the maximum penalty for such an offense is execution. On top of that, serious child porn-related charges against King have mysteriously been dismissed. This result is an outrageous injustice.

Predictions