US Army soldier who fled to North Korea will plead guilty

U.S. Army Pvt. Travis King, who crossed into North Korea last year, is expected to plead guilty to several charges the military has brought against him.

King was deployed to South Korea but expected to return home in July 2023, when he ran into North Korea during a tour of a town on the border.

King, who is charged with 14 counts for an array of alleged offenses, will plead guilty to five of those charges on Sept. 20 before a military judge in Fort Bliss, Texas, according to his attorney, Franklin Rosenblatt.

After pleading guilty at a general court-martial to those counts, which include desertion, the Army will drop the other charges he is accused of, Rosenblatt added.

“Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside of his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations,” his lawyer said in the statement.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said King has entered an agreement with prosecutors but that no further details were available at the time because the guilty plea is subject to acceptance from the military judge overseeing the case.

“If Pvt. King’s guilty plea is accepted, the judge will sentence King pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement. If the judge does not accept the guilty plea, the judge can rule that the case be litigated in a contested court-martial,” the office said, saying King will remain in pretrial confinement for now.

In October 2023, about a month after he was returned to the U.S. from North Korea, King was charged with counts that included unlawfully possessing alcohol, making a false statement, possessing child pornography and assaulting officers.

There was some speculation that King might plead guilty, with a hearing canceled in July amid negotiations between the defense and prosecutors.

Updated on Aug. 27 at 10:28 a.m. EDT