N. KOREA SAYS U.S. SOLDIER UNHAPPY AT SOCIETY

North Korea asserted today that a U.S. soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after being disillusioned with the inequality of American society and racial discrimination in its Army.

It was North Korea's first official confirmation of detention of Pvt. Travis King, who entered the North while on a civilian tour of a Korean border village on July 18. He became the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

The North Korean official news agency, KCNA, said King told investigators that he had decided to enter North Korea because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”

It said King also expressed his willingness to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country, saying he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society.”

KCNA is a propaganda arm of North Korea's dictatorship and often releases statements and articles carefully calibrated to reflect the government's official line that the United States is an evil adversary.

It is virtually impossible to confirm the authenticity of King's comments reported in North Korea's state media. The United States, South Korea and others have accused North Korea of using foreign detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. Some foreign detainees have said after their releases that their declarations of guilt while in North Korean custody were made under coercion.

“This is 100 percent North Korean propaganda in its element. King, as an American citizen held in North Korea, has no sway in how (North Korea) chooses to cast its narrative,” said Soo Kim, an expert with Virginia-based consultancy LMI and a former CIA analyst.

“As for King's release, his fate rests in North Korea's hands. Perhaps the regime will try to ‘bargain' King's life in exchange for financial concessions from the U.S. More than likely, negotiations won't be easy, and terms will be dictated by Pyongyang,” she said.

Some analysts earlier said North Korea might try to tie King's release to the U.S. cutting back its military activities with South Korea, amid heightened animosities between the wartime foes.