As deliberations continue over US solider entering North Korean territory amid souring relations between Pyongyang and Washington, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the soldier, identified as Private 2nd Class Travis King, 'willingly' entered the demarcation line.
"What we do know is that one of our service members who was on a tour, willfully and without authorization, crossed the military demarcation line," said Austin at a press briefing on Tuesday.
The Defense Secretary underlined that he was "absolutely foremost concerned" about the welfare of the American soldier, who is currently detained in North Korea, and that Washington is closely monitoring and investigating the situation.
The incident can lead to a potential diplomatic headache for the US and its ally South Korea, as they increase pressure on North Korea over its rising nuclear rhetoric. Relations between the US and North Korea, which have already remained highly antagonistic for decades, are again boiling over increasing military drills between the former and South Korea.
The 23-year-old King was assigned to the 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division out of Fort Bliss, Texas. At some point in South Korea, he faced disciplinary action and spent 50 days at a detention facility in South Korea on assault charges, CNN reported. His motives for entering North Korea are unknown so far.
As a soldier and a US citizen, King's detention is likely to give North Korea a major bargaining chip, emboldening the chances of a full-blown crisis for the Biden administration.
The United Nations Command has said it was “working with our (North) Korean People’s Army counterparts to resolve this incident. Pyongyang's demands over King's return are yet to be seen.
According to BBC, King's mother Claudine Gates said that she could not imagine him crossing into North Korean territory without any authorisation. "I am so proud of him. I just want him to come home, back to America," she said.
The last person to cross into North Korean territory was 60-year-old Bruce Byron Lowrance, who entered North Korea from China in 2018. He was released a month after being detained in what the US said were attempts by North Korea to improve relations with the US.
In 2016, the arrest of student Otto Warmbier made headlines after he was accused of trying to steal a banner from his hotel and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labour, soon after which he fell into a coma. He was released in 2017 in poor physical condition and died less than a week later, with the US claiming he was tortured by North Korean officials.
Meanwhile, hours after King's arrest, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in a display of defiance against the United States a day after the latter docked a nuclear submarine in South Korea for the first time in four decades.
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