Travis King, U.S. Army private who ran into North Korea, to plead guilty to desertion

Travis King, the U.S. Army private who ran into North Korea last year, will plead guilty to desertion as part of a plea deal, his lawyer said Monday.

King will plead guilty to five of the 14 offenses with which he was originally charged, attorney Franklin Rosenblatt said in a statement. He will plead guilty to one count of desertion, one count of assault on a non-commissioned officer and three counts of disobeying a lawful order, Rosenblatt said.

CNN first reported the news of the guilty plea.

The remaining nine offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, part of the original case against King, will be withdrawn and dismissed, Rosenblatt said.

In a statement late Monday, Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, confirmed a deal had been reached but did not offer details.

“Pvt. King has agreed to plead guilty, however further details are not releasable at this time as the guilty plea is subject to the acceptance by the military judge,” she said.

The multitude of original charges reflected allegations of troubles before King ran across the Demilitarized Zone between U.S. ally South Korea and communist North Korea on July 18, 2023. He was 23 at the time.

The event followed 48 days of imprisonment by South Korean authorities over allegations that included assault and damaging public property.

King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said last year that she believes something happened to her son during his deployment that affected his mental health and might have led to his behavior in South Korea.

“A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed,” she said in October.

An Army order for King’s return to the U.S. was being executed the day he dashed, but instead of getting on a plane, he ended up in a group tour of the border village Panmunjom. He left the tour and ran into North Korea.

North Korea held him until September. Upon his return, King had been undergoing re-integration at Joint Base San Antonio before he was ordered held until trial at Fort Bliss, Texas, one of his lawyers said last year.

McCaskill, the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel spokesperson, said King would remain confined at least until a judge hears his agreed-upon plea.

Upon King’s return to the U.S., White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan was put in the rare position of thanking North Korea and China for their help.

“We thank the government of Sweden for its diplomatic role serving as the protecting power for the United States in the DPRK and the government of the People’s Republic of China for its assistance in facilitating the transit of Private King,” Sullivan said in a statement in late September.

Among the offenses that would be cut as part of King’s plea deal are soliciting child pornography, possession of child pornography, drinking against orders and leaving his base in South Korea after curfew.

“U.S. Army Private Travis King will take responsibility for his conduct and enter a guilty plea,” Rosenblatt said in his statement Monday.

King, from Racine, Wisconsin, will enter the plea and face sentencing before a military court at Fort Bliss on Sept. 20, Rosenblatt said.

McCaskill said that if the judge assigned to the hearing rejects the plea deal, King’s case could end up “litigated in a contested court-martial.” Otherwise, he will most likely face a sentence “pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement,” she said.