North Korea said today that the American soldier who entered its territory last month through the heavily guarded border with South Korea did so after feeling frustrated by inequality in American society, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA.
Private Travis King entered North Korea during a tourist tour of a Korean border village. He is the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.
According to the Korean Central Telegraph Agency (KCTA), King told investigators that he decided to enter North Korea because he “hatred the inhumane treatment and racial discrimination in the US military.” The release also said King had expressed a willingness to seek asylum in North Korea or a third country, saying he was “frustrated by the inequality in American society.”
This is the first official comment from the North Korean side since King’s detention.
The Pentagon said it could not verify the authenticity of comments allegedly made by Travis King, Reuters reported.
Photo: AP/BTA
“We remain focused on his safe return. The Department’s priority is to bring Private King home, and we are working through all available channels to do just that,” the Pentagon added.
Analysts have previously said Pyongyang could use King to extract concessions from Washington, such as tying his release to curbing joint US-South Korean military activities. King crossed the border at a time of heightened hostility on the Korean peninsula. North Korea has conducted more than 100 weapons tests since the beginning of the year. This prompted Washington to expand its military exercises with Seoul. North Korea considers the exercises between these two countries to be preparations for an invasion of its territory.
2023-08-16 04:23:33
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