diplomacy
North Korea wants to expel US soldiers from the country
North Korea wants to expel a US soldier from the country. photo
© picture alliance / dpa
The crossing of the border into North Korea by a young US soldier made headlines in July. For a long time it was unclear how the isolated country wanted to deal with him. Now they want to get rid of him.
Two months after crossing the border illegally from South to North Korea, a US soldier has to leave the strictly isolated country again. North Korean authorities have decided that Travis K. will be deported, state media reported.
The investigations have been completed. The US soldier confessed “that he illegally entered the territory of the People’s Republic.” After his defection he was arrested. It was still unclear when the young man should leave the country.
According to American forces in South Korea, the soldier took part in a commercial tour along the South Korean part of the demilitarized zone between the two Korean states in July and then deliberately crossed the border. Since his disappearance, the case has been a mystery. Initially nothing was known about his motives.
Different information from North Korea and the USA
North Korea first commented on the whereabouts of the US soldier last month. As was the case then, it was now said that Travis K. had complained during the interrogations about “the inhumane treatment and racist discrimination in the US Army” and had therefore decided to cross the border. He was disillusioned because of “the unequal American society.”
North Korea’s account of the man’s alleged motives could not be independently verified. The US did not have direct access to Travis K. Both countries do not have diplomatic relations. North Korea, which is largely isolated internationally mainly because of its nuclear weapons program, has accused the USA of hostile policies for decades.
According to the US Department of Defense, the soldier was supposed to return home. In South Korea he had spent a certain amount of time in a detention center for a crime. The US has 28,500 soldiers stationed in South Korea. In recent decades, Americans have crossed the heavily fortified border with North Korea several times without permission. There they were usually sentenced to several years in prison and only released after long negotiations.