Travis King, US soldier who fled to North Korea, convicted of desertion | Military News

A military judge releases King for good behavior and time already served after sentencing him to 12 months in prison.

According to his lawyer, US soldier Travis King, who fled to North Korea and was taken into custody there, was sentenced to one year in prison and subsequently released on the basis of time already served.

King pleaded guilty to five counts – including desertion, assault on a noncommissioned officer and three counts of insubordination to an officer – as part of a deal accepted by a military judge at Fort Bliss, Texas, on Friday, his attorney, Franklin Rosenblatt, said.

The US Army has brought at least 14 charges against the soldier based on the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including desertion, assault and incitement to download child pornography.

The government moved to dismiss nine charges after he pleaded guilty to five counts.

King was stationed in South Korea and was scheduled to fly back to Texas last year to face disciplinary hearings after spending nearly two months in a South Korean prison on assault charges stemming from a drunken bar fight.

Instead, in July 2023, he left the airport on foot and crossed the border from South Korea to North Korea while on a civilian tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean peninsula.

He was immediately taken into North Korean custody.

“As part of the agreement, the judge sentenced Travis to one year in prison, demotion to private (E-1), withholding of all pay and benefits, and dishonorable discharge,” Rosenblatt said in a statement.

“Because Travis has already served his sentence and has been given credit for his good behavior, he is now free and will return home,” the statement said.

North Korea said at the time that King, who joined the army in January 2021, deserted to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the U.S. military.”

But after the investigation was completed, Pyongyang decided to expel King for illegally entering its territory, and he was returned to US custody in September 2023.

In a statement, the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed King's guilty plea as part of a deal.

“The outcome of today's court-martial is fair and just and reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed by Pvt King,” said District Attorney Major Allyson Montgomery in a statement.

King's attorney, Rosenblatt, said the soldier had “struggled with significant challenges throughout his life, including a difficult childhood, exposure to a criminal environment and mental health issues,” adding that these factors “exacerbated the hardships he experienced in the military.”