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☆ Travis King disappeared into a North Korea more isolated than ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, July 21 (Reuters) - When U.S. soldier Travis King sprinted across the border into North Korea from the South this week, he disappeared into a North Korea where lingering COVID-19 concerns and restrictions have made the already secretive country more isolated than ever. Officials in Washington said North Korea had yet to give any response through a number of channels, including at the United Nations. North Korean border guards fatally shot and burned the body of a South Korean fisheries official near their disputed maritime border in 2020. North Korean guards at the site still shelter inside buildings, apparently to avoid the risk of catching COVID. But North Korea often seeks meetings with high-level American officials before any releases, and that could be complicated by their worries over COVID, he added.

Persons: Travis King, King, Andrei Lankov, Lankov, Isaac Taylor, Kim Jong Un, Steve Tharp, COVID, Tharp, Bobby Hall, Josh Smith, Lincoln Organizations: Korea Risk, U.S, United Nations Command, United Nations, Security, U.S . Army, North, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korea, Pyongyang, Seoul, U.S, United States, Washington, North Korean, Korean, South . Sweden, North

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.

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

☆ For North Korea, US defectors can be a propaganda win, but a logistical pain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Analysts said discussions over the soldier's fate could see some of the first diplomatic engagement between North Korea and the United States in years. "I do not think North Korea views the latest incident as strong leverage or an opportunity to engage the U.S.," she said. "North Korea knows that the U.S. government is unlikely to change its North Korea policy or its commitment to U.S. extended deterrence because of one U.S. soldier who reportedly faced disciplinary action and wilfully crossed into North Korea." "Their conditions are better not only than the average North Korean prisoner, but of the average North Korean citizen." North Korean border guards fatally shot and burned the body of a South Korean fisheries official in 2020, and later leader Kim Jong Un ordered an entire city into lockdown when a North Korean crossed back into the country from the South.

Persons: Travis King, King, Andrei Lankov, Rachel Minyoung Lee, Tae Yong, Tae, Lankov, Otto Warmbier, Kim Jong Un, Josh Smith, David Brunnstrom, Hyonhee, Angus MacSwan Organizations: U.S, Army, Security Area, North, Korea Risk, Stimson, Korean, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, North Korean, Pyongyang, ., United States, Seoul, Korea, Korea's, American, Korean, Washington

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