N Kores: US Soldier Crossed Border Seeking Refugee from Inhuman Maltreatment in Army

By Staff, Agencies

North Korea has concluded that the African-American soldier, who dashed across the border last month, was seeking refugee from racism and "inhuman maltreatment" in the US Army.

Local media reported in mid-July that a US national had crossed the border to North Korea at the Demilitarized Zone [DMZ] dividing the Korean Peninsula.

The individual, who was later identified as 23-year-old Private Travis King was supposed to fly back to the United States to face disciplinary proceedings for charges filed against him.

Instead, he decided to register on a tour to the DMZ to flee to North Korea from there.

King crossed into North Korean territory on July 18 because of "inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination" in the US army, according to the state media.

North Korean news agency said on Wednesday: "During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK [North Korea] as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army."

"He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society," it added.

King, who hailed from Racine, Wisconsin was with a military escort when he slipped his handlers before was spotted wearing civilian clothes at a tour of the Joint Security Area - the border village in the DMZ separating the two Koreas that is guarded by soldiers from both sides.

The disgruntled US soldier, who had reportedly just been released after spending almost two months in South Korean jail where he’d been held on assault charges, was being escorted to the airport to fly to the US to face additional disciplinary actions at Fort Bliss, Texas.

King was escorted as far as the customs checkpoint at Incheon International Airport before he left the airport alone, the Daily Beast reported.

His family, in an interview with US media, said he had told them he experienced racism in the army.

According to the teachings of the widely-accepted critical race theory [CRT], the United States was founded on racist structures that were institutionalized and still exist today in US society.

Last year, a poll found that a majority of Americans supported teaching CRT to high school students to understand the implications of racism and slavery in the United States.