An Army private who fled to North Korea while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on Tuesday reportedly lied that his passport was missing in order to avoid a return flight to Fort Bliss in Texas, where he was facing disciplinary charges.
The Korea Times reported Wednesday that Pvt. Travis King, 23, of Wisconsin was escorted by military police from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, to Incheon International Airport. King, who had been held at a detention facility for about two months for multiple assault charges before being released on July 10, went through a security checkpoint alone because military police officers were not allowed to accompany him.
King arrived at the boarding gate but did not board the plane.
"At the gate, he approached an American Airlines official and reported that his passport was missing and was able to return out of the departure gate under the escort of an airline employee," an official at Incheon International Airport told The Korea Times, adding that King appears to have lied about his missing passport.
It remains unknown how King traveled to Panmunjeom, a border village inside the DMZ, after getting out of the airport. The village is located about 53 miles away from the airport. But it is likely that joining a Joint Security Area group tour of the DMZ, which requires prior registration, was a part of his plan to flee to North Korea, The Korea Times reported.
U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command declined to comment when asked by The Korea Times whether King lied about his passport to avoid boarding the flight.
"We cannot confirm the details at this stage as investigations are still ongoing," a U.S. Forces Korea official told The Korea Times.
United Nations Command, which runs the Joint Security Area tours, confirmed in a tweet Tuesday that King was in North Korean custody and would be “working with our [Korean People’s Army] counterparts to resolve this incident.”
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