2023-09-27 20:02:11
Read also: American soldier detained in North Korea entered “illegally”, according to Pyongyang
Once in the United States, he will join a US army medical center in Texas, according to another US official, but Washington has refused to discuss possible prosecutions once morest the soldier for the moment. The US government was quick to thank Swedish diplomacy for its role in his release and China for facilitating his “transfer” via the Chinese border with North Korea.
No concessions
Speaking to journalists, a senior US official assured that “Private King appears to be in good shape and in good spirits”. In Washington, there was public concern regarding the treatment he might be subjected to in North Korea. “I can tell you that he is very happy to be on his way home,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked whether Washington had made concessions to Pyongyang, the same source replied categorically: “No, none.”
“We didn’t give them anything. We have not made any concessions in exchange for his return,” added the spokesperson for the State Department, who also tempered expectations of a possible détente with Pyongyang, on nuclear power for example. “I wouldn’t see it as a sign of a breakthrough. I think this is an isolated case,” said Matthew Miller, while saying that the United States remained “open to diplomacy with Pyongyang”.
The end of the “King saga”
Travis King was due to return to the United States following getting into trouble with the South Korean justice system, but he crossed the border with the North on July 18, joining a group of tourists visiting the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.
A second-class soldier, he was released from prison in South Korea following a brawl in a bar and an altercation with the police. He was due to return to the United States to face disciplinary sanctions but, in a still unexplained manner, failed the authorities at Seoul International Airport. By crossing the border with the South, Travis King sought to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the American army,” said the North Korean agency KCNA in August, confirming that the soldier was detained by Pyongyang .
The incident risked further worsening relations between Washington and Pyongyang, especially since North Korea has, on numerous occasions, detained Americans and used them as bargaining chips. The scenario of his exit from North Korea via China appears worthy of a spy novel, just like that of his incredible entry into North Korea. “We learned this month via Sweden that North Korea was ready to release him,” said the senior American official.
What followed was an “intense diplomatic sequence”, notably involving Sweden which manages American consular affairs in the North Korean capital, the United States and North Korea no longer maintaining diplomatic relations. China, with which the United States maintains tense relations despite a recent rapprochement, also played a role in the transfer itself but “nothing else,” according to the official.
The two Koreas have technically still been at war since 1953, as it was an armistice and not a peace treaty that ended the armed conflict. Fortifications abound on the border, but only a concrete wall separates the two countries at the level of the common security zone (JSA), which remains less difficult to cross despite the presence of soldiers. South Korea is a key ally of the United States and hosts some 27,000 American troops on its soil.
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