World

US soldier who fled to North Korea is free after sentencing

2024.09.20 21:15

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Army Private Travis King, who last year ran into North Korea and was taken into custody there, was sentenced on Friday to one year of confinement then freed based on time already served, his lawyer said in a statement.

He pleaded guilty to five charges, and the sentencing was held at Fort Bliss in Texas.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

The U.S. Army charged King with crimes including desertion for running into North Korea in July 2023, assault against fellow soldiers and solicitation of child pornography, Reuters reported late last year.

He was charged by the Army with 14 offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, after his release from North Korean custody in September 2023 following behind-the-scenes negotiations. The government moved to dismiss nine offenses after he pleaded guilty to five charges.

KEY QUOTES

“With time already served and credit for good behavior, Travis is now free and will return home,” his lawyer said.

CONTEXT

King joined the Army in January 2021. He was detained in South Korea over assault allegations to which he pleaded guilty.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Private Travis T. King (wearing a black shirt and black cap) is seen in this picture taken during a tour of the tightly controlled Joint Security Area (JSA) on the border between the two Koreas, at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, July 18, 2023.  Sarah Leslie/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

King had already been due to face disciplinary action in the United States after his release from South Korean detention. He was on his way home last year when he slipped away from Seoul’s international airport and made his way to a civilian tour of the border area between North and South Korea.

Then King sprinted across the border into North Korea. He was immediately taken into North Korean custody.



Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 70,886.99 4.26%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,467.28 2.68%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.999191 0.01%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 572.35 3.41%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 170.63 7.51%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.25%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.519124 3.08%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.178727 9.93%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,461.06 2.32%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.161303 0.98%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.338294 3.26%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.73 0.56%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000018 7.51%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,903.93 2.08%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 70,592.91 4.16%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 24.51 7.51%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,464.20 2.50%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 348.38 5.56%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 10.99 6.87%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.08 12.14%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.92 4.31%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.03 0.41%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.992204 0.78%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.55 1.09%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.90 6.87%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 8.67 6.93%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,591.79 2.51%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 7.41 8.49%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000009 11.15%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.50 6.44%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 475.10 12.57%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 1.01 0.58%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.27 12.48%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 158.22 0.83%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.113309 8.35%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.094348 3.60%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.25%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.08 1.09%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 18.47 4.92%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 1.02 1.55%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.30763 4.74%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.56 6.37%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 38.18 2.42%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.19 12.11%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 139.31 8.12%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.45 4.78%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.499137 5.02%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.072721 2.72%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.569984 3.25%
immutable-x
Immutable (IMX) $ 1.10 3.48%