US Soldier Who Entered North Korea to Plead Guilty on 5 Charges

An American soldier who ran across the North Korean border last year has reached a plea deal with the Army, according to his lawyer.

“U.S. Army Private Travis King will take responsibility for his conduct and enter a guilty plea. He was charged by the Army with fourteen offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” King’s attorney Franklin Rosenblatt said Monday in a statement posted to X.

“He will plead guilty to five of those, including desertion, 3 counts of disobeying an officer and assault on a noncommissioned officer,” the statement said.

My statement today on U.S. Army Private Travis King’s court-martial pic.twitter.com/jVeGiGdxuq

— Franklin D. Rosenblatt (@frankrosenblatt) August 26, 2024

King’s court martial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20 at Fort Bliss.

King faced 14 counts, including possession of child pornography, according to CNN.

“Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside of his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations,” Rosenblatt wrote.

In a statement, Michelle McCaskill, a representative of the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said a deal had been reached, according to NBC.

“Pvt. King has agreed to plead guilty, however further details are not releasable at this time as the guilty plea is subject to the acceptance by the military judge,” she said.

Claudine Gates, who is King’s mother, said she believed an incident during her son’s deployment triggered his troubles with the Army.

“A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed,” she said.

Travis King, Army soldier who ran into North Korea, to plead guilty to desertion: attorney https://t.co/X5PnfeQfHE pic.twitter.com/rCOSboMfiu

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) August 27, 2024

King dashed into North Korea in July 2023. At the time, he had just been released from a two-month jail sentence in South Korea for assault and was being sent back to the U.S.

King did not board his flight, instead joining a tour group and crossing into North Korea.

North Korea returned King to the U.S. in September.

King was charged in his court martial documents with leaving his barracks without permission, consuming alcohol against regulations, kicking a staff sergeant in the head and seeking lewd photos of a minor using Snapchat, according to The Washington Post.

North Korean media said King sought refuge in North Korea due to an “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination.”