North Korea is reported to have detained a serving US Army soldier. Reports said that the soldier crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea without permission. The man was identified by the US Pentagon as a 23-year-old Private 2nd Class or PV2 named Travis King. Reports said that he was on an organised tour of the UN-run zone dividing the two countries. The crisis comes during a particularly tense time with North Korea. A senior US commander said that there had been no contact with the soldier.
#TravisKing #NorthKorea #PV2TravisKing
~PR.151~ED.103~HT.96~
#TravisKing #NorthKorea #PV2TravisKing
~PR.151~ED.103~HT.96~
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NewsTranscript
00:00 North Korea is reported to have detained a serving US Army soldier.
00:08 Reports said that the soldier crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea
00:12 without permission.
00:14 The man was identified by the US Pentagon as a 23-year-old Private Second Class, or
00:19 PV-2, named Travis King.
00:22 Reports said that he was on an organized tour of the UN-run zone dividing the two countries.
00:28 The crisis comes during a particularly tense time with North Korea.
00:32 A senior US commander said that there had been no contact with the soldier.
00:36 Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino said that he was not
00:41 tracking contact with North Korea.
00:43 He said that PV-2 King had acted willingly by making a run across the border without
00:48 authorization and the incident was being investigated by US Forces Korea.
00:53 On its travel advisory, the US tells its citizens not to travel to North Korea due to the continuing
00:59 serious risk of arrest and the critical threat of wrongful detention.
01:03 Hours after Travis King's detention, North Korea launched two suspected ballistic missiles
01:08 into the nearby sea.
01:09 However, there has been no suggestion that it is tied to the soldier's detention.
01:14 South Korea's military confirmed the missile launch, which comes as tensions run high on
01:19 the Korean peninsula.
01:20 It is unclear if the soldier has defected to North Korea or hopes to return.
01:25 There has been no word yet from North Korea as well.
01:28 In a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said that PV-2 Travis King had been in the army
01:32 since January 2021.
01:35 Reports said that he is a cavalry scout, a reconnaissance specialist originally assigned
01:39 to an element of the army's 1st Armored Division on a rotation with the US military in South
01:45 Korea.
01:46 Reports revealed that he got into trouble there.
01:48 Officials in Seoul have confirmed that he spent two months in prison for assault charges.
01:53 Reports quoted legal sources as saying that he was fined for repeatedly kicking the back
01:57 door of a police patrol vehicle in the capital's Mapo district and shouted foul language at
02:02 the police who apprehended him.
02:04 Reports further revealed that King was suspected of punching a Korean national at a nightclub
02:08 in September.
02:09 It is unclear if these were the reasons for his imprisonment.
02:13 PV-2 King was released from prison on 10 July and was escorted to the airport for a US-bound
02:19 flight.
02:20 Seoul officials said that he passed through airport security but then somehow managed
02:24 to leave the terminal and get on a tour of the border from where he crossed over into
02:28 North Korea.
02:29 The United Nations Command, which operates the Demilitarized Zone and Joint Security
02:34 Area or JSA, said earlier that its team had made contact with the North Korean military
02:40 to try to negotiate his release.
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