US "Contacted North Korea but No Response... Doing Our Best to Repatriate Defector Soldier"

The U.S. government announced on the 19th (local time) that it has not yet received a response from North Korea regarding the whereabouts of U.S. soldier Travis King, who crossed into North Korea without authorization while touring the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a briefing that "the White House, Department of Defense, State Department, and the United Nations are all cooperating to gather information." She added, "We are still trying to ascertain the facts regarding King's safety and whereabouts," explaining, "It is still in the early stages, and time is needed to collect the necessary information."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

She emphasized, "The government will take active measures to ensure the safety of Private King and to bring him back safely," adding, "This includes contact with the governments of Sweden and South Korea. We are also engaging with the North Korean military."

However, she said there was nothing to disclose regarding cooperation with China.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also said at a briefing that "the Department of Defense contacted the North Korean military counterpart yesterday, but North Korea has not yet responded," and explained, "We have several channels through which we can send messages to North Korea." He noted that at the State Department level, they are cooperating with the embassies in Washington D.C., as well as the governments of South Korea and Sweden.

He stressed, "The administration wants to make it very clear that it will continue to actively work to ensure King’s safety and his return to his family’s home."

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden did not respond at all to reporters' questions regarding this matter just before his speech at a competition committee event held at the White House that day. The White House press pool reported, "President Biden ignored multiple questions about whether he believes King had intentions of seeking asylum when he crossed into North Korea."

The day before, the U.S. Department of Defense officially confirmed that the U.S. soldier deliberately crossed into North Korea while touring the Joint Security Area (JSA) at Panmunjom. The soldier, identified as Private Travis King in his early 20s, was reportedly arrested on assault charges and recently released from a South Korean prison. He was scheduled to be transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas, for further disciplinary action but crossed the Military Demarcation Line without authorization.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.