North Korea Confirms Detention of US Soldier While Christians Suffer
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent
PYONGYANG/SEOUL (Worthy News) – North Korea has confirmed custody of Travis King in its first response to requests for information on the U.S. soldier’s whereabouts, the United Nations Command has said.
[North Korea’s Korean People’s Army] “KPA has responded to the United Nations Command with regards to PV2 King,” the multinational forces confirmed, using acronyms for the North Korean army and King’s rank as a soldier.
“In order not to interfere with our efforts to get him home, we will not go into details at this time,” the U.N. Command added.
Last month King dashed across the border during a guided tour of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, raising the prospect of lengthy diplomatic wrangling between Pyongyang and Washington.
The confirmation of his detention in one of the world’s most isolated Communist dictatorships came shortly after King’s family complained that they had not heard from the White House. They urged the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to do more to ensure the young soldier’s release.
“We wish [the White House] would come to our house to talk to us and let us know something,” said King’s uncle Myron Gates late Wednesday in comments aired by U.S. broadcaster CNN.
Gates claimed the family contacted several elected officials but did not hear any updates from the Biden administration since the 23-year-old Wisconsin native defected to North Korea.
NO RESPONSE
The White House did not immediately respond to Gates’ claim.
King was scheduled to fly back to Fort Bliss, Texas, with a military escort last month when he slipped his handlers and was spotted wearing civilian clothes on a Joint Security Area tour.
He previously spent about two months at a South Korean detention center, U.S. officials confirmed.
King also faced two assault allegations and was fined about $3,950 for damaging a South Korean police cruiser last October, according to U.S. officials.
King allegedly told his superiors that he did not intend to return to the U.S. during a disciplinary scuffle last September.
The young soldier’s family members have linked his behavior to his struggle with losing his 6-year-old cousin earlier this year.
It was unclear whether North Korean autocratic leader Kim Jong Un would be willing to free King at a time when the U.S. criticized North Korea’s human rights record.
CHRISTIANS SUFFER
Hundreds of thousands of people, including many devoted Christians, are believed to suffer in labor camps where they face torture and possible execution.
North Korea is extremely sensitive about any outside attempt to undermine Kim’s leadership and weaken his absolute control over the country’s 26 million people.
On Wednesday, North Korea condemned the decision to confirm Julie Turner to monitor the country’s human rights issues.
It also warned of unspecified security consequences if Washington continues to criticize its human rights conditions after firing numerous nuclear-capable missiles in the region.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) described Turner as a “wicked woman.”
The United States special envoy was chosen by Biden as a “political housemaid” to launch groundless attacks on the country’s human rights record, the KCNA added.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Turner’s appointment on July 27. She previously served as the director of East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department.
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