A World of Poor Decisions in Korea
So we have this young Army cavalry scout private (PV2 or E2 actually) who was already in a world of shit with the Army and South Korea, after being arrested on assault charges several months earlier after assaulting two Koreans.
Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King (23), was already in a Republic of Korea (South Korea) prison (serving two months) for assault charges, decided that he hadn’t made enough poor choices in his life, decided that after he was escorted by military police to a security checkpoint at Incheon Airport, to leave the airport and join a tour group who were touring the DMZ. Once in the tour group, King decided that he would run past United Nations Command security forces and cross into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).
He is now being detained by North Korean authorities and I’m sure loving his new life in North Korea. North Korea is one of the world’s most politically repressed nations in the modern world.
King was supposed to be sent back to the United States, where he would face disciplinary actions, including discharge from the Army.
According to those who were in the same tour group, a man fitting King’s description, let out a large laugh and then ran between some buildings that straddle the border.
The assault was not the only bad choice King had made while stationed in Korea, during the assault, King also kicked and broke the door of a police car in Seoul in October 2022. He was also shouting profanities at the police and the U.S. Army. He was arrested and had to pay 5 million won ($4,000) (won is pronounced with a short “o” like John) by a South Korean district court in the city of Seoul.
American and South Korean guards scrambled unsuccessfully to stop US Army soldier Travis King from sprinting into North Korea. A tourist from New Zealand, Sarah Leslie, was on the same tour to the border area and witnessed the moment https://t.co/bWYowANItk pic.twitter.com/heUqfxGVz4
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 19, 2023
The most recent American (Otto Warmbier) to be detained by the North Korean military, died after more than a year of captivity by the North Korean military. Otto was arrested for pulling down a sign in Pyongyang in early 2016, while on tour. He was arrested and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in prison.
I guess if you fuck around, you will find out when playing with North Korea.
Welcome to the Average Joe Weekly blog. This is basically my place on the web where I can help spread some of the knowledge that I have accumulated over the years. I served 10+ years in the Marine Corps on Active Duty, but that was some 25 years ago.
