North Korea decides to expel US soldier Travis King, detained for entering the country "illegally" in July

North Korea announced this Wednesday that it has decided to expel from its territory the American soldier Travis King, who was detained after entering the country through its border with the South last July.

“The relevant body of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has decided to expel Travis King, a US Navy soldier. who illegally entered the territory of the DPRK,” said the state news agency KCNA.

King, 23, crossed the border with the North after having spent 48 days in a South Korean prison because he did not pay the fine imposed in February for an incident with the police in Seoul and, according to what he said in his At the time Pyongyang, had requested asylum in the country.

Pyongyang has made the decision to expel King, “in accordance with the law of the Republic”, after concluding an investigation into the case about which no further details have been provided. The North Korean state agency also did not provide information on when or how the soldier's expulsion will take place.

During the investigation, “Travis King confessed that he illegally entered the territory of the DPRK because he harbored resentments against inhumane mistreatment and racial discrimination within the US military and was disillusioned by the unequal US society,” KCNA said, as previously reported.

On a tourist visit

On July 18, King crossed the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and entered North Korean territory taking advantage of his participation in a tourist visit to the Joint Security Zone (JSA), in the heart of the border between the two Koreas.. The soldier was going to be repatriated as a disciplinary measure for his problems with the South Korean justice system when the incident occurred.

A month later, the North Korean regime publicly acknowledged his detention after entering “illegally into the territory” of North Korea and assured that the soldier had expressed “his desire to request asylum” there or in a third country.. The United States authorities indicated at the time that they had not been able to corroborate the information published by the North Korean media, but that they were working to bring back King, whose health status is unknown.