North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea after an American soldier escaped from South Korea after being released from detention.
The launches appear to be retaliation for the United States' deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea. They are not necessarily related to the purported defection of an American soldier.
North Korea Missiles Launch
The missiles traveled roughly the same distance between Pyongyang and the South Korean port city of Busan, where the USS Kentucky arrived Tuesday afternoon, marking the first visit by a nuclear-armed submarine from the United States since the 1980s.
According to Mirror, the news comes as the United Nations attempts to secure the release of the American soldier who fled to North Korea on Tuesday afternoon. Travis King, 23 years old, was recently released from a South Korean penitentiary where he had been detained on assault allegations.
Instead of boarding an aircraft to return to the United States, the Private 2nd Class attended a tour of the Panmunjom border village. According to US officials, he then escaped across the border.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin verified during a briefing that the crossing was intentional and that he was concerned about the situation. The soldier was not escorted to the airport because he was no longer in custody, according to a defense official who said there was no evidence he intended to defect and was no longer in custody.
An official also revealed that the alleged defector could not join the frontier excursion after evading airport security. A witness informed the broadcaster that the suspect dashed away from the tour while chuckling.
Daejon Ilbo, a South Korean news outlet, reported that North Korea is attempting to recruit King. The government of Kim Jong Un reportedly waited nearly a day before revealing what had happened to King. There is concern that King will be utilized for "propaganda purposes."
Travis King Seemingly Enjoys North Korean Custody
Per Daily Mail, the US soldier was photographed enjoying a tour of the ultra-high-security area moments before his absurd stunt. King was seen peering across the frontier into the clandestine communist country while donning a black T-shirt and hat purchased from a gift shop in the demilitarized zone.
Tuesday, as he fled his military superiors and joined the tour, according to witnesses, he chuckled hysterically as he made a frantic dash. King had a series of run-ins with police in South Korea for offenses such as assaulting a man in a nightclub and vandalizing a police vehicle, it has been revealed.
Wednesday morning, fears mounted for King's safety as North Korea failed to deliver the soldier or acknowledge his arrest. According to unconfirmed reports, King "defected," and his mother issued a statement Tuesday night stating that she could not comprehend her son doing "anything like that."
According to court documents, King faced two assault charges and was fined by a South Korean court for damaging a police vehicle months earlier. Before his release in July, he had served two months in prison for assault and was escorted to an airport by US Army officials to return home for military disciplinary proceedings. After being left at airport security, King exited the terminal and continued his tour.
The US military scrambled to determine the fate of King, whose actions precipitated a new crisis in Washington's relations with the nuclear-armed state. On Tuesday, US officials stated that King breached the border "willfully and without authorization."
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