North Korea asserted Wednesday that a U.S. soldier who bolted across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after becoming disillusioned with the inequality of American society and racial discrimination in its Army.
It was North Korea’s first official confirmation of detention of Pvt. Travis King, who had served in South Korea and sprinted into the North while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18. He became the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years.
The official Korean Central News Agency, citing an investigation by relevant North Korean authorities, reported that King told them he decided to enter North Korea because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”
The report said King also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country, saying he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society.”
KCNA is a propaganda outlet and its content is carefully calibrated to reflect North Korea’s official line that the United States is an evil adversary.
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