The United States on Wednesday recovered its soldier released by North Korea who is in “good health”, at the end of an intense sequence facilitated by China, according to officials.
However, Washington does not see any diplomatic “breakthrough” with Pyongyang despite this unexpected return of American soldier Travis King, whose defection last July had worried the United States at the highest level.
Earlier, North Korea announced the expulsion of Private King who entered the country illegally from the South on July 18. The United States had, at least publicly, not heard from him since then.
He is “on his way to the United States” after passing through the US air base in Osan, South Korea, from the border town of Dandong, China, said the spokesperson for the Department of Defense. State, Matthew Miller.
The soldier crossed the border between North Korea and China where he was welcomed by the United States ambassador in Beijing, Nicholas Burns, the same source said.
Once in the United States, he will join a US army medical center in Texas (south), according to another US official, but Washington has refused to discuss possible prosecutions against the soldier for the moment.
The American government was quick to thank Swedish diplomacy for its role in his release and China for facilitating his “transfer” via the Chinese border with North Korea.
Speaking to journalists, a senior American official assured that “Private King appears to be in good shape and in good spirits.”
In Washington, there was public concern about the treatment he might be subjected to in North Korea.
“I can tell you that he is very happy to be on his way home,” he added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Asked whether Washington had made concessions to Pyongyang, the same source replied categorically: “No, none.”
“We gave them nothing. We made no concessions in exchange for his return,” added the spokesperson for the State Department, who also tempered expectations of a possible détente with Pyongyang on nuclear issues. For example.
“I would not see it as a sign of a breakthrough. I think it is an isolated case,” said Matthew Miller, while saying that the United States remained “open to diplomacy with Pyongyang “.
Travis King was due to return to the United States after getting into trouble with the South Korean justice system, but he crossed the border with the North on July 18, joining a group of tourists visiting the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas.
A second-class soldier, he was released from prison in South Korea after a brawl in a bar and an altercation with the police. He was due to return to the United States to face disciplinary sanctions but, in a still unexplained manner, failed the authorities at Seoul International Airport.
By crossing the border with the South, Travis King sought to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the American army”, said the North Korean agency KCNA in August, confirming that the soldier was detained by Pyongyang .
The incident risked further worsening relations between Washington and Pyongyang, especially since North Korea has, on numerous occasions, detained Americans and used them as bargaining chips.
The scenario of his exit from North Korea via China appears worthy of a spy novel, just like that of his incredible entry into North Korea.
“We learned this month via Sweden that North Korea was ready to release him,” said the senior American official.
What followed was an “intense diplomatic sequence”, notably involving Sweden which manages American consular affairs in the North Korean capital, the United States and North Korea no longer maintaining diplomatic relations.
China, with which the United States maintains tense relations despite a recent rapprochement, also played a role in the transfer itself but “nothing else”, according to the official.
The two Koreas have technically still been at war since 1953, as it was an armistice and not a peace treaty that ended the armed conflict.
Fortifications abound on the border, but only a concrete wall separates the two countries at the level of the common security zone (JSA), which remains less difficult to cross despite the presence of soldiers.
South Korea is a key ally of the United States and hosts some 27,000 American troops on its soil.
27/09/2023 21:10:34 – Washington (AFP) – © 2023 AFP