Trying to find what happened to him, White House on US soldier in North Korea

Travis King: Pyongyang has not responded to US requests for information about the soldier.

The White House expressed deep concern about the well-being of US soldier Travis King who crossed into North Korea border this week. Although, Pyongyang has not responded to US requests for information about the soldier, White House national security council said, “This is not a country that is known for humane treatment of Americans or actually anybody else for that matter. We don't know where he is. We don’t know the conditions in which he’s living right now. And it’s the not knowing that is deeply concerning to us and we’re trying as best we can to get as much information as we can about him.”

US Army soldier Travis King. (Reuters)

North Korea's defense minister issued a veiled threat to the US suggesting that the docking of a nuclear-armed US submarine in South Korea could result in a nuclear attack by the North, marking the latest threat amid tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.

Who is Travis King?

Travis King was supposed to be on his way to Fort Bliss, Texas, after finishing a prison sentence in South Korea for assault. He reportedly ran into North Korea while on a civilian tour of the border village of Panmunjom, making him the first known American held in North Korea in almost five years. The US soldier had chosen to serve his time at a labor camp rather than pay the nearly $4,000 fine, officials said.

Although, he has not been declared a deserted by the US military which can result in imprisonment of as much as three years. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that Travis King was not escorted all the way to the gate because he was not in custody. There was no anticipation that he would not get on the plane to go home, she informed, adding that the US soldier does not represent a security threat or liability.

There is no indication that Travis King’s decision to run into North Korea was pre-planned or organized with Pyongyang, she said.

Are there earlier cases of the same?

Rough treatment of Americans detained by North Koreans include the 2017 death of a 22-year-old student- Otto Warmbier- after he was flown home in a vegetative state after 17 months in captivity. He was a student at the University of Virginia and was seized by North Korean authorities from a tour group in January 2016. He served 17 months before being returned to the US in a vegetative state.