북한이 추방하겠다고 공언한 미군 병사 트래비스 킹이 다시 미국에 구금됐다.
아멜리아 니스, 나미타 싱, 그레이그 그라치오시, 앤드루 파인버그
2023년 9월 28일 목요일 오전 12:56(AEST)
집에서 당국의 징계를 받기 위해 미국행 비행기를 타지 않고 북한으로 도피한 미군 병사 트래비스 킹 이병이 비무장지대 관광단에서 이탈한 지 거의 두 달 만에 미국에 다시 구금됐다. 남북한이 국경을 넘어 북한으로 들어갔습니다.
수요일 미국 관리들은 잘못된 미군 병사가 그를 미국이 통제하는 시설로 이송하던 중 중국에 있는 미국 당국에 인계되었다고 말했습니다.
킹 이병의 어머니 클로딘 게이츠의 대변인인 조나단 프랭크스는 게이츠 여사가 “잘 수행된 임무에 대해 미 육군과 모든 기관 간 파트너들에게 영원히 감사할 것”이라고 말했다.
그는 군인의 가족이 프라이버시를 요구하고 있다고 덧붙였으며 게이츠 씨는 “어떤 인터뷰도 할 생각이 없다”고 말했다.
킹 씨가 미국 구금으로 돌아왔다는 소식은 북한이 비무장지대의 국경마을 가이드 투어에 참가하다 북한으로 건너온 킹 씨를 추방하겠다고 발표한 지 불과 몇 시간 만에 나온 것입니다.
국영 통신사 KCNA는 수요일 킹 씨(23세)가 지난 7월에 불법 입국했다고 자백했다고 보도했습니다.
북한은 그의 ‘불법’ 입국에 대한 조사를 마친 뒤 그를 추방한 것으로 알려졌다.
국영 통신사는 킹 씨가 언제, 어디서, 어떻게 추방될 것인지 구체적으로 밝히지 않았습니다.
북한은 킹씨의 도강에 대한 조사 결과 그가 “미군에서의 비인도적인 처우, 인종차별에 대한 반감, 불평등한 미국 사회에 대한 환멸 때문에” 국내 망명을 찾고 있었다는 사실이 밝혀졌다고 주장합니다.
그는 거의 5년 만에 북한에 억류된 것으로 알려진 최초의 미국인이다.
지난 7월 18일, 미 육군 이등병인 킹 씨는 남북 국경으로 여행을 가던 중 일행에서 이탈해 국경을 넘어 도주했다.
그곳에서 그는 북한군에 투항했다.
그는 국경을 넘어 도피하기 전 한국에서 폭행 및 사유재산 파괴 혐의로 40일 이상 구금된 바 있다.
그는 5월 24일 한국에서 범죄로 유죄판결을 받은 미군 장병과 기타 외국인들을 수용하기 위한 천안교화소 노동수용소에서 복역하라는 선고를 받았다.
7월 10일 석방된 그는 미국으로 돌아가 텍사스 포트 블리스에 있는 본거지에서 징계 조치를 받을 예정이었다고 SCMP는 보도했다. 그러나 그는 비행기를 타지 못하고 북한으로 건너갔다.
킹 씨의 건강 상태는 다소 불분명하다.
미 국방부는 지난 7월 주한미군과 육군 방첩부대가 킹 목사의 국경 너머 실종 사건에 대해 조사를 진행하고 있음을 확인했다.
유엔군 사령부는 북한에 정보를 요청했고, 북한은 마침내 8월 그의 도하 정보를 공개했다.
지난달 국영 통신사인 KCNA는 “트래비스 킹은 조사 과정에서 미군 내부의 비인도적 학대와 인종차별에 대해 악감정을 품고 북한으로 건너오기로 결정했다고 고백했다”고 밝혔다.
또한 킹씨가 “조선인민군 병사들에 의해 통제되고” 있으며 킹씨의 입국을 둘러싼 상황을 계속 조사하고 있다고 덧붙였습니다.
킹 목사의 삼촌인 마이런 게이츠는 지난 달 ABC 뉴스에 그의 조카가 군 복무 기간 동안 인종차별을 겪었으며 한국 감옥에 갇힌 후 더 이상 자신의 목소리를 내지 않는다고 말했습니다.
이 이병은 2021년 1월부터 군에서 복무했으며 로테이션으로 한국에 있었던 정찰 전문가였다.
수년에 걸쳐 다른 미군 병사들도 북한으로 탈북했으며, 일부 사례는 1950~1953년 한국 전쟁으로 거슬러 올라갑니다.
Travis King: What we know about his flight to North Korea and deportation
Jean Mackenzie in Seoul and Emily McGarvey in London – BBC News
Thu, 28 September 2023 at 2:41 am AEST
US soldier Travis King, who was held in North Korea after crossing the border from South Korea without authorisation, has been returned to US custody.
Private 2nd Class King, 23, had fled across the border in July after joining a Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) border tour.
On Wednesday, following his expulsion, he was flown to a US military installation.
The 23-year-old’s crossing came during a particularly tense time with the North, one of the world’s most isolated states. The US tells its citizens not to go there.
What do we know about his deportation?
Pvt King was freed on Wednesday 27 September after being transferred from North Korea to China.
A senior US administration official said that after months of “intense diplomacy”, Pvt King was returned to US hands and had spoken to his family.
“We can confirm Pvt King is very happy to be on his way home and he is very much looking forward to reuniting with his family,” the official said.
“We are going to guide him through a reintegration process that will address any medical and emotional concerns and ensure we get him in a good place to reunite with his family.”
The process of safely returning the soldier began earlier in September, when the US learned that North Korea intended to release Pvt King.
Swedish officials then travelled to North Korea and brought Pvt King to its border with China, where he was handed over to US officials.
China played a “constructive role”, but “did not mediate”, the official added. “All these pieces had to come together quickly.”
As the US and North Korea have no diplomatic relations, Sweden’s embassy in Pyongyang has traditionally negotiated on behalf of the US.
A Swedish embassy spokesman confirmed that the country had acted “within its role as a protective power” for the US in North Korea during the King case.
Shortly after Pvt King left Chinese airspace, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan thanked both the Swedish and Chinese governments for their support in returning him.
How did he get across the border in the first place?
At the time of the incident, Pvt King was being escorted back to the US to face disciplinary action.
But he did not board the plane. Instead, he reportedly arrived at the boarding gate at Incheon Airport alone, as military police officers were not allowed to accompany him all the way to the plane.
At the gate, he reportedly approached an American Airlines official, claiming his passport had gone missing. An airline employee then escorted him out of the departures area.
He then made his way out of the terminal to the border crossing about 54km (34 miles) away.
An eyewitness on the same border tour described hearing the soldier laughing loudly before making a run.
What do we know about the soldier?
Pvt King has been in the Army since January 2021. He is a cavalry scout – a reconnaissance specialist – originally assigned to an element of the army’s 1st Armoured Division on a rotation with the US military in South Korea.
He had been held in a detention facility in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, after getting into fights. He was reportedly investigated for assault in September 2022.
Local media reports say he was suspected of punching a Korean national in a Seoul nightclub.
He was also fined 5m won (£3,000; $3,950) for “repeatedly kicking” the back door of a police car and screaming “foul language” at the officers trying to apprehend him.
Local reports quoting officials said he was released on 10 July after serving two months in jail on assault charges.
He was released to Camp Humphreys – an army base in South Korea – for out-processing.
He was later escorted to the airport in Incheon, Seoul, for a flight back to the United States, where he was to face disciplinary action.
A US defence official confirmed Pvt King had been due to travel to Fort Bliss in Texas, where he was to be administratively separated from the army.
A defence official said the soldier had “wilfully” crossed the border.
What has his family said?
Pvt King’s mother, Claudine Gates, told ABC News in July she could not imagine her son doing such a thing. He “had to be out of his mind”, she said.
Carl Gates, an uncle, told the Daily Beast that Pvt King had been “breaking down” emotionally over the death of his 7-year-old cousin.
Pvt King began acting “reckless” and “crazy” around the time of his cousin’s death in February, the uncle said.
Did the soldier plan his move?
It is possible the soldier’s move was planned.
The host of the North Korea podcast, Jacco Zwetsloot, worked for a tour company in 2012 that took US soldiers to the JSA. He says there is “no way this person could escape from the airport one day and book on to one of these tours the next”.
He explains that it usually takes three days to be authorised to go on one of these trips. You need to submit your passport number and military ID to the UN Command, which operates the area.
“When I was leading the tours, we had to change the turnaround time from 48 to 72 hours because there were too many mistakes,” he says.
Also, since the pandemic, it has been much more difficult to get on these tours. They only restarted recently and it seems there are just two companies offering tours to foreigners. To book this would have required research and planning.
What happened to Americans detained by North Korea in the past?
US citizens have been detained there several times since 1996. They included tourists, scholars and journalists.
In July 2017, the US government banned US citizens from visiting the country – a move that has since been extended until at least August this year.
US prisoners have typically been treated brutally in North Korean prisons.
In 2018, the North released an American college student, Otto Warmbier, who had been imprisoned for stealing a hotel sign. He returned to the US in a coma and later died.
