White House says it has reached out to North Korea in effort to bring home U.S. soldier

A South Korean post is seen at Imjingak Park near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea, on Thursday. An active U.S. service member has willfully crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea without authorization. Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA-EFE

July 20 (UPI) — The White House has reached out to North Korea to bring home the U.S. soldier who was seen bolting across the military demarcation line Tuesday, as details began to emerge about the possible defector.

Olivia Dalton, the principal deputy press secretary, said during a press gaggle onboard Air Force One that White House officials remain in close contact with Defense Department, State Department and the United Nations — as well as officials in Sweden and South Korea.

“I can tell you: This morning, we’ve now reached out through multiple channels to the [Korean People’s Army] to try to ascertain that information and get to — get closer to an answer,” she said. “We’re still looking for more information about what has exactly occurred here at the moment.”

Dalton added that the goal of the United States is to find him and get him home as quickly as possible.

The U.S. Army has confirmed that 23-year-old Travis T. King joined the military in January 2021 and went on to become a cavalry scout assigned to First Brigade Combat Team, First Armored Division. He held the rank of private second class.

King had been held in South Korea on assault charges and was released on July 10, the CBC reported. Legal documents obtained by NBC News show he caused hundreds of dollars in damage to a police car and shouted profanities about Koreans and the Korean army.

He was being sent home Monday to Fort Bliss in Texas, where he likely would have been discharged from service and faced additional military disciplinary actions. He had been dropped off at the airport and escorted as far as customs but ultimately left the airport instead of getting on his plane home.

Christine Wormuth, the U.S. Secretary of the Army, said Wednesday while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum that she is not sure whether she would consider King as having gone AWOL or is a deserter.

“He was going to come back to the United States and face the consequences in the Army,” she said. “I’m sure that he was grappling with that. We obviously don’t know exactly what was in his mind.”

Wormuth added, “I worry about how they may treat him, so want to get him back.”