U.S. Army Pvt. Travis King was on his way back to the United States on Sept. 27, after being freed by North Korea.
“The United States has secured the return of Pvt. Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [DPRK],” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“We appreciate the professionalism of our diplomats who worked with their counterparts at the Department of Defense and coordinated with the governments of Sweden and the People’s Republic of China, and we thank Sweden and the People’s Republic of China for their assistance in facilitating the transfer.”
U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Brig. Gen. Patrick Teague met Pvt. King, 23, in China, according to Mr. Miller.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan had announced Pvt. King’s release earlier in the day.
“We appreciate the dedication of the interagency team that has worked tirelessly out of concern for Pvt. King’s wellbeing,” he said.
“In addition, we thank the government of Sweden for its diplomatic role serving as the protecting power for the United States in the DPRK and the government of the People’s Republic of China for its assistance in facilitating the transit of Pvt. King.”
It isn’t publicly known whether the United States had to give North Korea something—such as sanctions relief—in exchange for Pvt. King’s freedom.
The Biden administration has said that it didn’t give up anything.
North Korea hasn’t publicly stated why Pvt. King was released. The government’s investigation of Pvt. King “has been finished,” and he was “expelled,” according to North Korean state media KCNA.
“[Pvt. King] confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society,” according to North Korea, which didn’t specify whether Pvt. King was coerced into a confession or offered the information willingly.
Pvt. King crossed into North Korea on July 18 and was taken into custody by DPRK personnel. This followed his facing a dishonorable discharge from the military because of an alleged assault in South Korea in 2022. He had fled Incheon International Airport in South Korea after clearing customs as he was free of the U.S. Army personnel who had been escorting him and weren’t allowed to accompany him past customs.
After arriving in the United States, he was to be taken for evaluation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
The release is a rare positive in the fraught relationship between the United States and North Korea, which has supported Russia with missiles to use in its war in Ukraine.
