US soldier who fled to North Korea to plead guilty to desertion
27 August 2024, 02:24
Nine other offences, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be dismissed.
A US soldier who fled to North Korea just over a year ago will plead guilty to desertion and four other charges and take responsibility for his conduct, his lawyer said on Monday.
Franklin D Rosenblatt told The Associated Press that Private Travis King intends to admit his guilt to military offences, including desertion and assaulting an officer.
Nine other offences, including possession of sexual images of a child, will be dismissed under the terms of the deal.
King will be allowed to discuss his actions at a September 20 plea hearing at Fort Bliss, Texas.
“He wants to take responsibility for the things that he did,” Mr Rosenblatt said, declining to comment on a possible sentence that his client might face.
Desertion can result in imprisonment for as much as three years.
King bolted across the heavily fortified border from South Korea in July 2023 and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.
His run into North Korea came soon after he was released from a South Korean prison, where he had served nearly two months on assault charges.
About a week after his release from prison, military officers took him to the airport so he could return to Fort Bliss to face disciplinary action.
He was escorted as far as customs, but instead of getting on the plane, he joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom.
He then ran across the border, lined with guards and often crowded with tourists.
North Korea detained him, but after about two months, Pyongyang abruptly announced it would expel him.
He was flown back to Texas where he has been in custody since September 2023.
In October 2023, the US military filed a series of charges against King under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including desertion, as well as kicking and punching other officers, unlawfully possessing alcohol, making a false statement and possessing a video of a child engaged in sexual activity.
Those allegations date back to July 10, when he was released from prison.
