U.S. Soldier Who Ran Into N Korea Cuts Plea Deal

The U.S. Army Private who ran across the border from South Korea to North Korea is set to plead guilty to desertion and assault and three other charges as part of a deal with Army prosecutors, his attorney says. Travis King was charged with 14 fourteen offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the July 2023 incident in which he left a tour group and bolted across the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea.

King will plead not guilty to the remaining charges, which the Army has agreed to withdraw and dismiss, according to a statement from Franklin Rosenblatt, King's attorney.

King is expected to enter the plea during a court-martial at Fort Bliss, Texas on Sept. 20, when, according to the statement, "he will explain what he did, answer a military judge's questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced."

CNN reported last month that King's legal team was in plea negotiations with Army prosecutors.

Military officials said King "willfully and without authorization" crossed into North Korea last July, about a week after he was released from a South Korea detention facility where he'd been held for allegedly assaulting someone at a club in Seoul in October 2022.

At the time of his crossing, he was slated to fly to the U.S. to face additional administrative action by the U.S. Army.

U.S. officials secured King's release from North Korea in September 2023.

• Army Charges King With Desertion Over Dash to NKorea
• South Korea Says Some DMZ Tours to Resume After US Soldier Crossing