U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea returned, officials say

In video footage Thursday morning, U.S. Army Pvt. Travis King appeared to walk off a plane in San Antonio, Texas. King was transferred to American custody in China on Wednesday, U.S. officials said. North Korea’s state-run media said Wednesday that the country decided to release King after finishing an investigation. The soldier in July crossed the military demarcation line from South Korea into North Korea during a tour of the Joint Security Area dividing the countries.

Why did Travis cross the border? North Korea on Wednesday claimed that King confessed to crossing the border because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.” However, its quotation of King couldn’t be verified. The day before King crossed, he faced assault charges in South Korea and was due to return to Texas for disciplinary action.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Angela Lu Fulton’s report on disintegrating human rights in North Korea.