U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed on Tuesday an American soldier is likely in the custody of North Korea after fleeing across the heavily armed border from South Korea.
This after two U.S. officials earlier on Tuesday said the soldier detained was Private 2nd Class Travis King, who had just been released from a South Korean prison where he’d been held on assault charges and was facing additional military disciplinary actions in the United States.
King, who’s in his early 20s, was escorted to the airport to be returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, but instead of getting on the plane he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border, the officials said on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement.
Details about King, including his hometown and what additional charges he faced, were not immediately available. It was also unclear how he managed to leave the airport while he was being escorted.
The American-led U.N. Command said he is believed to be in North Korean custody and the command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately report on the border crossing.
Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, though more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to avoid political oppression and economic difficulties since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
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