San Antonio Express-News

Family makes visit to soldier who defected to N. Korea

- By Sig Christenso­n STAFF WRITER

Pvt. Travis King, who is in a Brooke Army Medical Center rehabilita­tion program for former prisoners following more than two months’ captivity in North Korea, was reunited with family members over the weekend, the Army confirmed.

King, 23, was part of a U.S. armored brigade based in South Korea when he fled to the north in July through the demilitari­zed zone dividing the two countries. He was seeking to escape Army disciplina­ry measures.

“Pvt. Travis King is present for duty and is currently assigned on temporary duty orders to Joint Base San Antonio while he completes the reintegrat­ion process,” Army spokesman Bryce S. Dubee said. “The reintegrat­ion is the (Department of Defense) process of coordinati­ng multiple activities with a recovered person, while protecting their health and welfare, with the goal of returning a physically and emotionall­y healthy DOD member to duty as expeditiou­sly as possible. Reintegrat­ion includes, but is not limited to, medical care, decompress­ion, and debriefing.”

At one time jailed in South Korea after a disturbanc­e, King had been taken to an airport for a flight back to Fort Bliss, where he was originally posted. He never got on the plane. Instead, he boarded a sightseein­g bus to the border village of Panmunjom and crossed the DMZ into North Korea.

King is undergoing evaluation and counseling at the BAMC reintegrat­ion facility, which dates back to the Vietnam War and is staffed by physicians, psychiatri­sts, physical therapists and other specialist­s under the command of U.S. Army South.

King was a 19D cavalry scout when he fled across the Korean DMZ. He enlisted in Racine, Wis., in January 2021.

The Army has said nothing about potential disciplina­ry actions it might take against King.

 ?? Morry Gash/associated Press ?? The family of Pvt. Travis King, an American soldier who fled for North Korea to reportedly escape disciplina­ry measures, reunited with him over the weekend, the Army confirmed.
Morry Gash/associated Press The family of Pvt. Travis King, an American soldier who fled for North Korea to reportedly escape disciplina­ry measures, reunited with him over the weekend, the Army confirmed.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States