US Soldier Travis King Sentenced for Desertion After Fleeing into North Korea

Travis King, a soldier stationed in South Korea, pleaded guilty to five charges related to his desertion and disobedience in July 2023. The charges included desertion, assault on a noncommissioned officer, and three counts of disobeying an officer. King was initially facing 14 charges, but as part of a plea deal, he admitted guilt to only five of them. He was sentenced to one year of confinement, but was released early due to good behavior and time already served. The incident occurred when King was supposed to fly back to Texas to face disciplinary hearings after a drunken bar fight and a stay in a South Korean jail, but instead he walked out of the Seoul-area airport, joined a DMZ sightseeing trip, and crossed into North Korea.