“American serviceman Travis King, who defected to North Korea last year, was sentenced Friday to a year in prison, but was released on the basis of time already served.”, — write: www.ukrinform.ua
“Given time served and good behavior, Travis is now free and will return home,” his lawyer said.
As reported, in July 2023, a US serviceman during a tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjom crossed the demarcation line without permission and was detained in North Korea.
Before that, he served time in South Korea on assault charges. Next, King faced disciplinary punishment in the United States, but he fled to North Korea.
Read also: Army USA suspended the use of Osprey helicopters after the plane wreck in Japan In September, King was released from a North Korean prison. The Swedish government took the American from North Korea and ferried him across the border to China to be handed over to the US ambassador.
King was taken to a military hospital in Texas for a medical evaluation.
As reported by Ukrinform, the US Army charged him with 14 crimes, including desertion, assaulting fellow servicemen, and distributing child pornography. The government dropped nine felony charges after King pleaded guilty to five counts.