(RepublicanNews.org) – An American who fled to North Korea in July 2023 is currently involved in talks to resolve the charges against him. Private Travis King’s lawyer said that he is currently negotiating with military lawyers to try to come to an agreement regarding charges relating to materials depicting child abuse and military desertion.
King has been due to return to Texas from South Korea in July 2023, after his release from a Korean detention center. He had been detained after an incident in October 2022 where he was reported to have punched somebody in a nightclub in Seoul. Upon his release, he was taken to the airport but left unsupervised before boarding his flight. He took the opportunity to flee north of the border. He remained there until Pyongyang decided to eject him from the country and had him flown to Texas on September 28th.
Shortly after his arrival at an Air Force base, he was charged with assaulting other officers, disobeying orders, unlawful possession of alcohol, possession of child abuse material, making a false statement, and desertion. Since October 18th, he has been kept in custody and is currently being held in a New Mexico detention center.
Pvt. King was due to appear in a hearing on Tuesday, July 16th, in Fort Bliss, Texas. The hearing was delayed, however, to allow both sides to meet and try to come to an agreement. A preliminary delay of two weeks has been agreed, but details of what a deal might look like have been kept tightly under wraps.
King’s mother, Claudine Gates, made a public statement following King’s charges in October 2023, in which she expressed her shock and concern. Gates said that King’s alleged criminal actions did not tally with “the man [she] raised,” and that King did not drink alcohol or view child abuse materials before being deployed to South Korea. Gates added that she believed something had happened to him while on deployment, and that whatever happened had had a significant impact on him and his mental health.
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