Running Toward the Unknown: U.S. Soldier Travis King in North Korea

Back in the DPRK

It’s a big world out there, and I’ve seen my fair share of it. If there is one place that I would not be interested in making a mad dash across the border and wanting to be integrated into society, that would be the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or the DPRK. It’s more commonly referred to as North Korea, so we’ll stick with that.

Twenty-three-year-old Army Private Travis King is obviously not me. On a sightseeing tour of Panmunjom, he dashed across the border and into a nation that is technically still at war with the South.  This, of course, is not normal behavior. I mean, most people don’t make mad dashes into the “Hermit Kingdom” unless they are Dennis Rodman. But I digress.

A little digging revealed that King was having some issues, as they say. He had just done a two-month stint in a South Korean prison while being held on assault charges. The young soldier was supposed to be heading back to Fort Bliss in the States, where he was looking at facing additional disciplinary measures and possible discharge from the service. King had been escorted to the airport Monday, where he was to catch a flight back to Texas.

Instead of taking that flight, he bolted and decided to take a tour of the border city of Panmunjom. Panmunjom used to be a quiet farming village, but it now finds itself as a kind of bizarre tourist attraction smack dab in the middle of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas.

In addition to his recent incarceration and potential pending disciplinary action, King was grieving the loss of his young cousin.  Members of the press immediately began speaking to King’s relatives, asking to speculate on his possible motivation for taking such a desperate act. Lest we forget, North Korea has a dark history of holding Americans against their will and using them as human bargaining chips. It usually does not turn out well for the captives.

A Long History of Mistreating Americans

Remember, if you will, the sad case of Otto Warmbier. He was the 22-year-old American who was being held by the North Koreans for subversion. He was eventually released to the United States, albeit in a vegetative state. Six days after being returned home, young Warmbier died. His alleged crime? Attempting to steal a propaganda poster from his North Korean hotel. For his conviction on this charge, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.  And don’t forget about Jeffery Fowle. He was held by the North Koreans for six months for leaving a bible behind in a hotel where he has been staying.

Going the other way, you may recall way back in 2017, of hearing the story of a North Korean soldier who made his own mad dash across the border heading south. The soldier’s name was Oh Chong Song, and he was stationed at a guard post on the North Korean side of the DMZ. Song just could not stand being so close to sweet freedom day after day, so he decided to take a Jeep and try to cross into the South. His plan got stuck in the mud when the Jeep he was driving got literally stuck in the mud.

By that time, his fellow North Korean soldiers were on to what he was trying to do, and Song came under heavy fire as ran across the border, seriously wounded. Song, who had been shot five times, was airlifted to a hospital south of Seoul where his gunshot wounds were treated and the numerous parasitic worms in his digestive tract were eradicated. He healed and has been assimilated into South Korean society.

Unknown Alliances

But what of our man King? As of this writing, the White House says they are working hard at trying to find out exactly where Travis King is. At this point, we don’t know what his intentions are or if he even desires to return to the United States.

SOFREP is closely monitoring this developing story and will provide you with updates as they become available.