U.S. soldier Travis King, who ran across the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea, has been sentenced to a prison term totaling the time he has already served. He pleaded guilty to desertion, assault on a non-commissioned officer, and disobeying orders. He was sentenced to 12 months for desertion and one month for each of the other charges, amounting to the 338 days he has already served. King was dishonorably discharged, as sought by the prosecution, despite his request for a bad conduct discharge. He had spent 63 days in North Korea in addition to his time served in the U.S. King, who is Black, cited racism in his unit as a contributing factor to his actions. He was encouraged to enlist in the Army by a recruiter and struggled to adjust. The incident occurred decades after another U.S. soldier, James Dresnok, defected to North Korea in 1962. Dresnok passed away in North Korea in 2016. To return home, King crossed the DMZ during a tour group visit in South Korea, violating the joint security agreement. After being detained in North Korea, he was returned to the U.S. following a diplomatic effort. The military judge’s sentence of time served and the dishonorable discharge aim to deter similar offenses in the future, according to a prosecution official. Defense attorneys argued for leniency based on the circumstances leading to King’s actions.
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