Daily Times

US soldier Travis King, who crossed into North Korea in July 2023, pleaded guilty to desertion and other charges as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to a year of confinement on Friday. With time served and credit for good behavior, King has been released, marking the end of a case that began when he fled to North Korea during a sightseeing tour of the Demilitarized Zone while stationed in South Korea.

A US soldier who crossed into North Korea last year pleaded guilty to desertion as part of a plea agreement Friday and was sentenced to 12 months of confinement, his lawyer said.

Because of good behavior and time served, the soldier was released, according to the lawyer.

Travis King was facing 14 charges related to him fleeing across the border from South Korea into the North in July 2023 while on a sightseeing tour of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula, and prior incidents. But he pleaded guilty to just five — desertion, assault on a noncommissioned officer, and three counts of disobeying an officer — as part of a deal that was accepted on Friday by a military judge.

“The judge, under the terms of the plea deal, sentenced Travis to one year of confinement, reduction in rank to private (E-1), forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a dishonorable discharge,” a statement from King’s attorney Franklin Rosenblatt said.

“With time already served and credit for good behavior, Travis is now free and will return home,” the statement said. “Travis King has faced significant challenges throughout his life, including a difficult upbringing, exposure to criminal environments, and struggles with mental health,” Rosenblatt said. “All these factors have compounded the hardships he faced in the military.”

In a statement, the US Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel confirmed King’s guilty plea as part of a deal and said that “pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, all other charges and specifications were dismissed.”