U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea pleads guilty to desertion

Travis King, the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last year, has pleaded guilty to desertion and other charges, the U.S. Army announced Friday.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, the 24-year-old Army private pleaded guilty in a military hearing Friday in Fort Bliss, Texas, to one count of desertion, three counts of disobeying a superior commissioned officer and one count of assault on a noncommissioned officer, the Army Office of the Special Trial Counsel said in a news release.  

King was sentenced to 12 months confinement, but will receive credit for time already served. He also received a demotion to E1, which is the lowest enlisted rank, as well as a dishonorable discharge.

At the time that he fled into North Korea in July 2023, King had been about to fly back to the U.S. from Seoul after serving time at a South Korea detention facility for assaulting two people and kicking a police car while in the country. However, after arriving at the airport, he skipped his flight and then ran across the border from South Korea into North Korea while taking part in a guided tour of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

After holding him for about two months, the North Koreans expelled him to China, who transferred him into U.S. custody in September 2023. U.S. officials at the time said no concessions were made by Washington to secure King’s release. 

He has been in confinement at the Otero County Jail in New Mexico since returning to the U.S. It was unclear if he was released from custody following Friday’s hearing. 

He was initially charged with 14 counts, but his attorney announced last month that as part of his plea deal, nine of the 14 counts were dismissed.

King served in the U.S. Army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of the Pentagon’s regular Korean Force Rotation.

“The outcome of today’s court-martial is a fair and just result that reflects the seriousness of the offenses committed by Pvt. King and will promote good order and discipline within the U.S. Army by deterring soldiers from committing similar offenses in the future,” Maj. Allyson Montgomery, an Army prosecutor, said in a statement. 

Tucker Reals,

Eleanor Watson and

Duarte Dias

contributed to this report.