An American soldier felt mistreated, so he fled to the North Korean dictatorship.

American soldier Travis King was sentenced to one year in confinement and was dishonourably discharged from the army for deserting into North Korea back in July 2023. North Korea claimed that he had done so to escape the “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” within the army and was “disillusioned about the unequal US society”. 

King was initially stationed in South Korea but was soon caught on the wrong side of the law. He was held at a local detention facility for punching an individual at a club. After his release, he was supposed to return to the United States to face disciplinary actions for the incident.

However, instead of boarding his flight back home, King left the airport and joined a tour group visiting the demilitarised zone the next day. During the tour, he crossed over to the North Korean side and was held in their custody. Subsequently, the dictatorship returned him to American hands where he served confinement.

King pleaded guilty at a court martial for desertion, assault, and insubordination. During the hearing, his lawyers brought up his challenging past that negatively affected his military service. In the end, he walked free as the year spent in confinement before the hearing counted towards his sentence. 

Read the full article here: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/20/politics/travis-king-sentenced-desertion-north-korea/index.html