WASHINGTON — A troubled U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea who was being sent home joined a group of tourists at the airport who were headed for the demilitarized zone, where he “bolted” across the border into North Korea, a senior administration official told NBC News on Monday.
The soldier, who had been disciplined during his deployment, was not wearing handcuffs when he was escorted by military police as far as they could go — a security checkpoint at Incheon Airport, a commercial airport about an hour-and-a-half away from the DMZ that separates South Korea from the communist country, the official said.
But instead of continuing alone to the gate, the soldier tagged along with a group heading for Panmunjom, which is the Joint Security area in the middle of the tense border guarded by North and South Korean soldiers.
When the soldier took off, the United Nations Command security forces that had been escorting the tour chased him but could not catch him in time, Pentagon officials said earlier.
Two U.S officials who were not identified told The Associated Press that the soldier is Private 2nd Class Travis King and reported that he had just been released from a South Korean prison, where he’d been held on assault charges.
Travis was facing additional military disciplinary actions when he returned to Fort Bliss, Texas, according to the AP.
NBC News has not yet confirmed that reporting.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters earlier at a briefing they’re still trying to piece together what exactly happened.
“You know, what I can confirm and I would say upfront (is) that we’re very early in this event, and so there’s a lot that that we’re still trying to learn,” Austin said. “But what we do know is that one of our service members, who was on a tour, willfully and without authorization” crossed the demarcation line.
That soldier is currently in the hands of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), Austin said.
“And so we’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin and engaging to address this incident,” Austin said.
Col. Isaac Taylor, public affairs director for the United States forces in Korea, said in an emailed statement that they are “working with our KPA (Korean People’s Army) counterparts to resolve this incident.”
The White House is also monitoring the situation, which came amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program, but has not yet commented.
Tours of the area have been ongoing since the 1960s and are organized by private companies, while the U.N. has held its own tours for its staff.
The area is just 30 miles north of Seoul, the South Korean capital, and has huge historic importance as the place where the armistice to end the Korean War was signed in 1953.
The news comes as the USS Kentucky, a nuclear-powered submarine, arrived at the Busan naval base in South Korea on Tuesday.
“This port visit to Busan reflects the United States’ ironclad commitment to the Republic of Korea for our extended deterrence guarantee,” U.S. Forces Korea said in a statement.
Andrea Mitchell, Peter Alexander, and Courtney Kube reported from Washington, Patrick Smith reported from London.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
