North Korea Has Refused to Answer US Government’s Calls About Detained Soldier
Jose Nino
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On July 24, 2023, United States military authorities revealed that the US contacted North Korean authorities about an American soldier who crossed the border from South Korea into North Korea the week prior. However, North Korean authorities haven’t responded thus far, according to US officials.
British Army Lieutenant General Andrew Harrison said during a briefing on July 24 that the US government has tried setting up discussions with the North Koreans using a communications line set up under the armistice agreement that brought open combat in the Korean War (1950-1953) to an end. US officials stated that the US had reached out to North Korea via at least two channels, but that North Korean authorities have not responded in kind.
“We have relayed messages through multiple channels to [North Korea] that the individual crossed on his own and we want him returned quickly and safely,” an American official stated. “We also asked for more information on his welfare.” The official asserted that the US knows that the North Koreans have received the message, but wouldn’t go into further detail.
On top of that, a spokesman for the US State Department stated that the UN and the North Koreans hadn’t been regularly contacting each other ever since Travis King’s initial flight. State Department spokesman Matt Miller denied allegations that the UN command had been regularly contacting the North Koreans, hinting that there had been a “misinterpretation.”
“I’m not aware of any new communications, other than those that happened in the very early hours or early days after he went across the border,” stated Matt Miller.
Private 2nd Class Travis King was detained in North Korea ever since he crossed the border while he was touring the Joint Security Area on July 24, which is part of the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas.
“The primary concern for us is Private King’s welfare,” Harrison remarked. He stated that he is still optimistic, but refused to provide details with respect to the talks, alluding to the sensitive nature of these affairs.
The day before he entered North Korea, King was slated to fly to Texas for disciplinary actions and a possible discharge after he committed assaults in 2022, official.
Thus far, North Korea has not made any public announcements regarding King’s current ordeal.
In September 2022, King allegedly committed an assault against a South Korean citizen. Subsequently, in October 2022, he was allegedly involved in another assault case where he damaged a police vehicle by kicking it, which resulted in him receiving a fine of $4,000.
North Korea will likely play games with King in an effort to extract a de facto ransom from the US. North Korean-United States relations have been highly fraught over the last 70 years. Due to the US’s universalist foreign policy, where it wants to remake the entire world in its dysfunctional image, the North Korean regime will always be a target for regime change for DC political hacks.
If true peace is to emerge on the Korean peninsula, the US must end its fanatic foreign policy against North Korea and let both of the authorities in the North and South hammer out their differences peacefully.
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