‘Abuse and racism’ drove Travis King to seek asylum in North Korea: State media



News ‘Abuse and racism’ drove Travis King to seek asylum in North Korea: State media First statement from Pyongyang on matter comes around one month after King crossed inter-Korean border on JSA tour Colin Zwirko \| Ifang Bremer \| Shreyas Reddy August 16, 2023 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Travis King (left) and the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area in Sept. 2015 \| Image: Koreancupid (left) and NK News (right) 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.” It added that King blames “inequality in U.S. society” for his actions and that he “seeks asylum in our country [North Korea] or a third country.” KCNA reported © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

News

‘Abuse and racism’ drove Travis King to seek asylum in North Korea: State media

First statement from Pyongyang on matter comes around one month after King crossed inter-Korean border on JSA tour

Colin Zwirko | Ifang Bremer | Shreyas Reddy August 16, 2023

‘Abuse and racism’ drove Travis King to seek asylum in North Korea: State media

Travis King (left) and the North Korean side of the Joint Security Area in Sept. 2015 | Image: Koreancupid (left) and NK News (right)

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.”

It added that King blames “inequality in U.S. society” for his actions and that he “seeks asylum in our country [North Korea] or a third country.”

KCNA reported

About the Authors

Colin Zwirko

Colin Zwirko is a Senior Analytic Correspondent for NK News based in Seoul. He joined the company in 2018 after receiving a master's degree in international security and foreign policy from South Korea's Yonsei University. Follow him on Bluesky / Twitter.

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Ifang Bremer

Ifang Bremer is a former Seoul Correspondent at NK News. He has worked on investigations for The Guardian and The Observer and previously wrote features on Korea for Dutch newspaper NRC.

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Shreyas Reddy

Shreyas Reddy is the Lead Correspondent at NK News, based in Seoul. He previously worked as a researcher at BBC Monitoring, where his work focused on news and key people and organizations from the Korean Peninsula, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Follow him on Twitter.

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