King lands at US army base in Texas, more than two months after he was detained for illegally crossing into North Korea.
An American soldier released after more than two months in North Korea’s custody has returned to the United States, a US official confirmed.
Travis King arrived at a US military base in the state of Texas around 05:30 GMT on Thursday, the official told the Reuters news agency
Pyongyang said on Wednesday that it “decided to expel” the 23-year-old US soldier after concluding an investigation over his unlawful entry in July.
A report in the official KCNA news agency said King, who is Black, “confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of [North Korea] as he harboured ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US army and was disillusioned about the unequal US society”.
King bolted into North Korea while on a tour of the southern side of an inter-Korean truce village, Panmunjom.
But he managed to leave the airport and eventually crossed into North Korea on July 18.
It remains unclear whether King will face any charges or disciplinary action upon his return to the United States.
How did King leave North Korea?
Washington has thanked Sweden and China for facilitating King’s release, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan saying on Wednesday that Beijing had helped him transit out of North Korea.
Brooke Army Medical Center
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