An American soldier has deserted to North Korea
Travis King, an American soldier and criminal, is now in Kim Jong Un’s custody
The PREVIOUS time someone crossed the border between the two Koreas at the Joint Security Area (JSA), an enclave along their heavily armed frontier, he did so through a hail of bullets. Oh Chong-song, a North Korean soldier, was shot and wounded five times by his comrades in 2017 as he sprinted into South Korea. A crossing this week was less dramatic but more surprising. On July 18th Travis King, an American soldier of the 1st Armoured Division, ran over to the North while on a group tour of the JSA.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “There’s always one”
From the July 22nd 2023 edition
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