King was handed over to US officials in China, the AP reported, and the cav scout is headed to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
North Korean official media said the country had “expelled” King: “According to the investigation by a relevant organ of the DPRK, Travis King confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society.”
King may be out of North Korea, but he’s not out of jeopardy. US officials may prosecute him for his defection and events surrounding it. We’ve reported on the serious charges the Army had prepared against Joseph White, the last US soldier to defect. He died in North Korea so never returned home to face the military justice system.