Army soldier Travis King convicted of desertion

The American soldier who fled to North Korea last year was dishonorably discharged from the military and sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty on Friday.

Private Travis King, 24, pleaded guilty to five of the 14 charges against him on Sept. 20 at Fort Bliss, Texas. A military judge dismissed the other nine charges. He was also released as a free man. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Rick Mathew, the military judge who oversaw the court-martial, agreed that King’s time in pretrial detention in the Otero County Jail in New Mexico would count toward his sentence.

King spent two months in a South Korean jail last year after a bar fight in which he allegedly assaulted a South Korean national. He was being escorted to the airport to be sent back to the United States when he fled and joined a tour group visiting the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. King fled across the DMZ into North Korea on July 18, 2023. He was sent back to the U.S. prison in September of that year, where he was charged with desertion and other crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

“Today’s court-martial outcome is a fair and just result that reflects the seriousness of Soldier King’s offenses and will promote good order and discipline within the United States Army by deterring soldiers from committing similar offenses in the future,” Maj. Allyson Montgomery, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, said in a statement after the guilty plea.

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In addition to the desertion charge, King pleaded guilty to three counts of insubordination stemming from an October 2023 incident after his return to U.S. custody. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a noncommissioned officer the day after the insubordination incident.

King was given a dishonorable discharge. His rank was also reduced to private (E-1) and his pay was forfeited. Before pleading guilty, he was sentenced to two decades in prison. King joined the Army in 2021 and was in South Korea as part of a unit rotation.

King’s lawyers argued that the soldier faced “significant challenges” in his life, including struggles with his mental health. According to reporters at the hearing, King himself said he planned to leave the military and fled to North Korea after becoming “dissatisfied” with his work in the military.

“He accepted responsibility at today’s court-martial, but make no mistake: the negative public perception and lingering consequences of his actions, combined with the incarceration he has endured, represent an ongoing punishment that Travis King will have to endure for the rest of his life,” Franklin Rosenblatt, Travis King’s lead defense attorney, said in a statement.

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