- US attempts to negotiate release of American soldier from North Korea
- Uncertainty over soldier’s defection or intentions
- Diplomats and military officials seek communication with North Korea amidst tensions
Washington asserts that North Korea is not responding to attempts to negotiate the release of an American soldier who escaped across its heavily armed border.
Tuesday, Private Travis King traversed the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea.
The US has attempted to communicate with the North Korean military through “multiple channels,” according to the White House.
A spokesperson added that the United States was still attempting to ascertain the soldier’s whereabouts and well-being.
The crisis occurs during a period of heightened tension with the North. In recent years, relations with the United States have plummeted as the country has tested dozens of increasingly potent missiles capable of transporting nuclear warheads.
On its travel advisory, the United States warns its citizens against traveling to North Korea, one of the most isolated countries in the world, due to “the continuing serious risk of arrest” and “the critical threat of wrongful detention.”
It is unknown whether PV2 King defected or intends to return.
Such a low-ranking soldier would have little propaganda and intelligence value, according to experts, which could prompt North Korea to release him; however, his future remains highly uncertain.
It has been decades since a United States soldier defected to the North, making it difficult to predict future events.
Pyongyang’s failure to respond to U.S. attempts at communication heightens uncertainty.
PV2 King was scheduled to return from South Korea, where he was stationed, to the United States to face disciplinary action.
However, the 23-year-old did not board the aircraft when he left his military escorts at Incheon Airport near Seoul on Tuesday. Instead, he embarked on a pre-booked tour to the border; the specifics of how he was able to do so remain unknown.
US defense officials stated that the soldier “deliberately” entered the North over one of the most heavily fortified areas.
The Washington-based news website Messenger claimed to have seen an internal US government report describing PV2 King’s border-crossing actions.
According to the allegation, PV2 King ran up to a building on the North Korean side.
He reportedly pounded loudly on the door, and when he received no response, he fled around the back and entered a van. He was then driven away promptly, according to the website.
Since the Korean War in the 1950s, when the United States supported the South, the DMZ has divided the two nations. The conflict ended in an armistice, so technically the two sides are still at war. There are still tens of thousands of US soldiers in the South.
James Fretwell, an analyst for the Seoul-based NK News, believes that Pyongyang could use PV2 King as a propaganda weapon to criticize the US military.
“King could very well appear in North Korean state media in the immediate future. However, much depends on the duration of his interrogation and possibly his Covid-19 quarantine,” he added. North Korea continues to enforce a stringent border closure in response to the pandemic.
But Jenny Town, director of the 38 North Programme at the Stimson Centre, believes that Mr. King “does not make for an ideal or compelling soldier story.”
“There have also been instances in the distant past of US soldiers who deserted and were permitted to remain… “However, in those instances, [their stories] had political value, and it was a very different time with a different leader,” she said.
Diplomats and military officials are attempting to engage the North Koreans in conversation to determine what is going on, but it is proving difficult.
The United States, which has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, has other channels of communication, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
He stated that department officials were in contact with their superiors in South Korea and Sweden to obtain information on PV2 King, but US officials were unaware of his current condition or location.
Due to the absence of diplomatic relations, the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang typically negotiates on behalf of the United States. Due to the ongoing border closure caused by the pandemic, diplomatic personnel are presently absent from the country.
Both the UN Command, which manages the border region, and the South Korean military have direct phone lines to the North Korean military, which they use daily to check in, even though the North Koreans do not always answer.
In recent years, several American citizens who unlawfully entered North Korea have been released within six months, excluding those convicted of criminal activity there.
Due to the tensions between North Korea and the United States and the impasse in bilateral negotiations, some experts believe that the North has little to gain by retaining PV2 King.
Professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Leif-Eric Easley, stated: “For Pyongyang, it makes sense to find a way to extract some compensation and then expel an American for unauthorized entry.”
“In the best-case scenario, the American soldier will return home safely at the expense of a propaganda victory for Pyongyang, and US and North Korean officials may be able to resume dialogue and contacts that stalled during the pandemic.”
