North Korea has confirmed the status of U.S. soldier Travis King for the first time, releasing a statement in state media saying he “admits to illegally” crossing the inter-Korean border around one month ago and that he seeks to stay in the DPRK.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday, King “confessed to wanting to cross into the DPRK” due to “inhumane abuse and racism in the U.S. military.”