US Soldier Liberated from North Korea En Route to the United States

U.S. Army Private Travis King is on his way back to the United States on Sept. 27, after being freed by North Korea.

“The United States has secured the return of Private Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement.

“We appreciate the professionalism of our diplomats who worked with their counterparts at the Department of Defense and coordinated with the governments of Sweden and the People’s Republic of China, and we thank Sweden and the People’s Republic of China for their assistance in facilitating the transfer,” he said.

Mr. Miller noted that U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Brig. Gen. Patrick Teague met Private King, 23, in China.

Earlier in the day, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced Private King’s release.

“We appreciate the dedication of the interagency team that has worked tirelessly out of concern for Private King’s wellbeing,” he said.

“In addition, we thank the government of Sweden for its diplomatic role serving as the protecting power for the United States in the DPRK and the government of the People’s Republic of China for its assistance in facilitating the transit of Private King,” Mr. Sullivan said.

It is not publicly known whether the United States had to give North Korea something, such as sanctions relief, in exchange for Private King’s freedom.

The Biden administration has said it did not give up anything.

North Korea has not publicly said why Private King was released. According to North Korean state media KCNA, the government’s investigation of Private King “has been finished,” and he was “expelled.”

Private King “confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society,” according to North Korea, which did not say whether Private King was coerced into a confession or whether it was information he offered willingly.

Private King crossed into North Korea on July 18, where he was taken into custody by DPRK personnel. This followed Private King’s facing a dishonorable discharge from the military due to an alleged assault in South Korea in 2022. He fled Incheon International Airport in South Korea after clearing customs as he was free of his escort, which was not allowed to accompany him past customs.

After arriving in the United States, Private King will be taken for evaluation at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The release is a rare positive in the fraught relationship between the United States and North Korea, which has supported Russia with missiles to use in its war in Ukraine.