Working On Safe Return Of Soldier Who Crossed North Korea Border, Says US Envoy
US Special Envoy for North Korea Sung Kim said during the meeting that the US was trying to ascertain information on Private Travis King's wellbeing and ensure his safe return.
Ahead of the trilateral meeting with Japan and South Korea pertaining to countering threats from North Korea, the United States has been actively working to ensure the return of the American soldier who crossed the North Korean boundaries. US Special Envoy for North Korea Sung Kim said during the meeting that the US was trying to ascertain information on Private Travis King's wellbeing and ensure his safe return, as reported by the news agency Reuters. The meeting took place amid the escalating tension around the Korean Peninsula.
King crossed the inter-Korean border and fled into North Korea, on Tuesday, after being released from South Korean prison. He is believed to be in North Korean custody, according to US officials, reported Reuters.
Instead of boarding a flight back to Texas, the soldier joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom and subsequently ran across the border into North Korea. This event has created a new crisis between the United States and North Korea. Private Travis King spent two months in a South Korean prison over assault charges and was released on July 10. He was set to be taken to Fort Bliss in Austin, Texas. According to an official, he had passed through security but he decided to flee. Two US officials said that King was due to face disciplinary action by the US military but wasn’t in custody at the time.
On Wednesday, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles eastwards, just hours after the US deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to a South Korean port for the first time in 40 years, according to reports from Reuters. The missiles fell outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, as confirmed by the Japanese Defense Ministry.
In response to the missile launches, South Korea's Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) issued a statement condemning North Korea's actions, stating that they "undermine the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community." The JCS called on North Korea to cease such launches, emphasizing that they constitute a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The US military acknowledged the ballistic missile launches and stated that it was in consultation with its allies and partners, as reported by Reuters. The US Indo-Pacific Command released a statement, noting that while the launches did not pose an immediate threat to the United States or its allies, they emphasized the destabilizing impact of North Korea's illicit weapons program.
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