The UN Command informed that North Korea, after more than two weeks of silence, has given its first response to requests for the whereabouts of a US soldier, the BBC writes.
23-year-old Private 2nd Class Travis King defected to the North Korean side on the 18th of July, while participating in a tourist excursion to the demilitarized zone.
The UN did not disclose more precise information about the soldier’s location, citing the need not to interfere with the soldier’s return process. However, the response suggests that Pyongyang may be ready to open talks.
The UN, which runs the demilitarized zone, has been trying to contact North Korea for information about Private King through a direct telephone line to the North Korean military. Previously, the
North Koreans have only confirmed that the message was received, but this is the first time that an answer has been given.
North Korea has confirmed that King has been detained.
However, North Korea has so far not publicly commented on King’s arrest.
Before defecting to the North Korean side, King had been accused of assault and spent two months in a South Korean prison. On the 10th of July, the soldier was arrested, and it was expected that he would go to the US, where further proceedings would take place. Instead, King managed to leave the airport and join a group of tourists headed for the demilitarized zone.
King has been in the Army since January 2021 and is a reconnaissance specialist who was originally assigned to the US Army’s 1st Armored Division in South Korea.
The last time a soldier crossed the border was in 2017. Then a North Korean soldier crosses the demarcation line first by car, then by running. Before the pandemic, more than 1,000 people fled North Korea to China each year.
King is currently the only US citizen in custody in North Korea.
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