She was among some 40 other tourists who were walking around and taking photos in the moments before King made a dash to North Korea. "I don't think anyone who was sane would want to go to North Korea, so I assumed it was some kind of stunt," she told Reuters. North Korea is likely to milk the border crossing by a U.S. soldier for propaganda purposes but will probably not be able to gain political leverage, analysts and a former North Korean diplomat said. The notable exception was U.S. college student Otto Warmbier, who died in 2017 shortly after being released from a North Korea prison. Still, analysts suggested that King's stay in North Korea could be lengthy.

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Persons: Travis T, King, Carl Gates, Gates, Travis, Sarah Leslie, Leslie, Tae Yong, Andrei Lankov, Otto Warmbier, Lankov, It's, Victor Cha, Josh Smith, Matt Spetalnick, Don Durfee, Sandra Maler Organizations: U.S . Army, The Korea Times, U.S, Cavalry, Korean, Force, National Defense Service, Korean Defense, Overseas Service, Daily, Joint Security Area, Reuters, South, Korea Risk Group, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, WASHINGTON, South Korea, Washington, North, Seoul, Fort Bliss , Texas, North Korea, Racine , Wisconsin, New Zealander, U.S, North Korean, Korea, Korean, Korea's, Pyongyang