North Korea asserted Wednesday that a U.S. soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after being disillusioned with the inequality of American society and racial discrimination in its Army.
It was North Korea's first official confirmation of detention of Pvt. Travis King, who entered the North while on a civilian tour of a Korean border village on July 18. He became the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.The North Korean official news agency, KCNA, said King told investigators that he had decided to enter North Korea because he "harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.
It is virtually impossible to confirm the authenticity of King's comments reported in North Korea's state media. The United States, South Korea and others have accused North Korea of using foreign detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. Some foreign detainees have said after their releases that their declarations of guilt while in North Korean custody were made under coercion.
Some analysts earlier said North Korea might try to tie King's release to the U.S. cutting back its military activities with South Korea, amid heightened animosities between the wartime foes. On Tuesday, North Korea slammed U.S.-led plans for an open UN Security Council meeting on its human rights record as "despicable" and only aimed at achieving Washington's geopolitical ambitions.North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son Gyong said the American human rights issue must be dealt at the UN council first, calling the United States "the anti-people empire of evils, totally depraved due to all sorts of social evils.
According to U.S. officials, King -- who chose to serve his time at a labor camp rather than pay the nearly US$4,000 fine -- has been declared AWOL. The punishment for being away without leave can include confinement in the brig, forfeiture of pay or dishonourable discharge and it is largely based on how long they were away and whether they were apprehended or returned on their own.
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