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South Korea: A picture of U.S. soldier Travis King hangs in Seoul
Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
Two months after crossing the border from South to North Korea without permission, a US soldier has been forced to leave the largely isolated state. North Korea has ordered Travis King to be expelled from the country, the neighboring country's state media reported on Wednesday, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.
As the state news agency KNCA announced, the North Korean authorities have completed the interrogation of Private Travis King. He confessed to having entered the North illegally because he had "aversion to inhuman abuse and racial discrimination" within the U.S. Army. Initially, there was no information about when the authorities plan to expel King.
King had crossed the heavily fortified border between North and South Korea on July 18 during a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA). U.S. officials had stated that, in their view, King had deliberately crossed the border.
asc/dpa/Reuters