Travis King: US solider held in North Korea after crossing the border during group tour

A US soldier is being held in North Korea after crossing the border from South Korea without authorisation. 

A senior US commander said there had been no contact with the soldier and the incident, as the US tells its citizens not to go there "due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. nationals".

What happened? 

Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, crossed from South Korea into the North after joining a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) border tour.

At the time, he was being escorted back to the US to face disciplinary action, after he was reportedly investigated for assault in September 2022.

Local media reports he was suspected of punching a Korean national in a Seoul nightclub.

He was also fined 5m won (£3,000; $3,950) for "repeatedly kicking" the back door of a police car and screaming "foul language" at the officers trying to apprehend him.

Local reports quoting officials said he was released on 10 July after serving two months in jail on assault charges and was released to Camp Humphreys - an army base in South Korea - for out-processing.

When he arrived at the boring gate at Incheon Airport, he was alone as military police officers were not allowed to accompany him to the plane. 

At the gate, he reportedly told the airline official his passport had gone missing, to which he was escorted out. 

He then made his way out of the terminal to the border crossing about 54km (34 miles) away and joined the tour.

Sarah Leslie, a New Zealand tourist, who was in Private 2nd Class King's group told the Associated Press she noticed him "running what looked like full gas towards the North Korean side".

"Everybody was stunned and shocked," she added.

An American soldier had shouted "get that guy" before South Korean and American soldiers ran after him, but could not catch him, she said.

It was all over in a few seconds, Ms Leslie recalled, adding that the soldier ran about 10m (30ft) down a narrow alley between buildings before he was over the border and out of sight.

An eyewitness on the same border tour described hearing the soldier laughing loudly before making a run.

Who is Travis King?

Travis King has been in the Army since January 2021, as a cavalry scout - a reconnaissance specialist - originally assigned to an element of the army's 1st Armoured Division on a rotation with the US military in South Korea.

King is the first known American to be detained in North Korea since Bruce Byron Lowrance, who was caught after entering from neighbouring China in October 2018 and deported several weeks later. King appears to be the first U.S. soldier to defect to North Korea in more than 50 years.

The Pentagon had contacted North Korea, a state department spokesman said. "My understanding is those communications have not yet been answered."