Reuters-US soldier Travis King in US custody after expulsion from North Korea to China
September 27, 2023 3 min 617 words
这则报道关于美国士兵特拉维斯·金被朝鲜驱逐并送往中国后被美国扣留的事件引发了广泛关注。特拉维斯·金自愿进入朝鲜，他声称是因为对美国不平等社会感到幻灭。这一事件引发了多方猜测和讨论。 首先，金被朝鲜以非法越界为由被驱逐，但他的动机是他所称的美国军队内的虐待和种族歧视。这凸显了美国内部的一些严重问题，包括军队内的问题。金的家人声称他在韩国服役期间遭受了种族歧视，这可能是他做出这一极端行为的部分原因。这引发了关于美国社会中的不平等和不公正问题的更深层次的讨论。 其次，朝鲜选择迅速将金驱逐，这与过去其他美国士兵试图逃到朝鲜的情况不同。这可能表明朝鲜政府认为金不再具有在国际政治和宣传方面的价值，或者是为了避免面对美国的外交压力，特别是在美国强调美国内的种族问题和人权问题方面。这一决定可能是政治和外交考量的结果。 最后，这一事件突显了美国在解决士兵纪律问题方面的挑战。特拉维斯·金在韩国面临了指控，但最终选择逃离，这可能会引发对美国军队纪律和管理的更广泛质疑。这也将成为未来美国军队面临的挑战之一。 总之，特拉维斯·金事件引发了一系列复杂的问题，涉及到军队内部问题、国际外交以及美国社会的不平等。这将需要深入的调查和讨论来理解其背后的复杂性和含义。
Private Travis King, the U.S. soldier who ran into North Korea in July, is in U.S. custody after being expelled by North Korea into China, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.
North Korea's KCNA state news agency said King had been expelled after admitting to entering North Korea illegally as he was "disillusioned about unequal U.S. society."
A U.S. official told Reuters King was in U.S. custody after being expelled by North Korea into China, but did not offer further details.
The expulsion decision was contained in the final results of an investigation into King's July border crossing published by KCNA. Last month it reported interim findings that he wanted refuge in North Korea or elsewhere because of maltreatment and racial discrimination within the army.
"King confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society," KCNA said.
DPRK are the initials of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Authorities have decided to expel King under the country's law, KCNA said, but did not specify how, when or to where he would be expelled.
The U.S. State Department and the White House could not be immediately reached for comment. U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
King, an army private, made a sudden dash into North Korea from the South on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between the neighbours.
There have been several attempts by U.S. soldiers stationed in South Korea to desert or defect to North Korea, but King's expulsion decision came relatively quickly: others have spent years before being released from the reclusive country.
Jonathan Franks, spokesperson for King's family, said: "No substantive comment expected. We need time."
King's uncle, Myron Gates, told ABC News in August that his nephew, who is Black, was experiencing racism during his military deployment, and that after he spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.
King, who joined the U.S. army in January 2021, faced two allegations of assault in South Korea. He pleaded guilty to one instance of assault and destroying public property for damaging a police car during a profanity-laced tirade against Koreans, according to court documents. He was due to face more disciplinary measures when he arrived back in the United States.
King had finished serving military detention and had been transported by the U.S. military to the airport to return to his home unit in the United States. Instead, he left the airport and joined a tour of the border area, where he ran across despite attempts by South Korean and U.S. guards to stop him.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at South Korea's Kyungnam University, said Pyongyang could have felt that any diplomatic and propaganda value in keeping King was outweighed by the likely U.S. pressure it would face.
"It seems likely that North Korea saw little value in him as a countermeasure to a U.S. human rights campaign against themselves by highlighting racial issues in America," he said.
"The decision could also mean that the political burden from detaining him for a long term would be greater than any political benefits it might bring."