North Korea confirms custody of U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed DMZ in July
World,North Korea,Travis King,Race And Racism
North Korea commented for the first time about a U.S. soldier who ran into the isolated country's territory last month.
North Korean state-run media KCNA claimed in a statement issued Wednesday local time that "Travis King admitted that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK," using the initialism for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, 23, crossed the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea, “willfully and without authorization” in July, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters last month.
North Korea also alleged that King said he decided to cross into North Korean territory.
KCNA said King "confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army."
