Kim Jong Un suddenly got a gift on July 18th in the form of US Army Private Second-Class Travis King. While Kim’s gift was unexpected, it’s the story about how he got there that is the most incredible.
After spending two months in a South Korean prison for assault, King was taken to the airport to be sent back to the US. Once he arrived in the US, he would be taken to Fort Bliss, TX, where he would be given a dishonorable discharge. However, once he was past security, the guards just let him go. They expected him to do what he was supposed to do. What a foolish mistake.
Instead, King found a South Korean tour group and decided to tag along. This group was heading to the border. While there, King slipped away, according to US Army officials. It was after this slip that he openly crossed into North Korea. This marks the first defection from the US to North Korea since the 1960s. Officials quickly issued a statement and remarked that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was now holding him, but no contact had been made.
If you’ve ever been in the military or even had family who talked about their time in, you know this was the most ‘Private’ thing ever. This man legitimately made the incredibly ignorant move to become a DPRK prisoner instead of facing the music back in the US. Mind you, due to his ethnicity, at some point, the BLM will come forth to talk about race relations in the US and how this proved how bad they are.
So far, Kim Jong Un has been incredibly silent. While he has been saber rattling ever since Biden took office, his regime has yet to mutter one word about their newest member. If he was able to get something good going, this could be the news the Kim regime would love to use as propaganda.
While he is only a Private and likely has little to no useful info for the Kim regime, that doesn’t mean he can’t bluff his way into salvation. While there’s no telling if or how long it could work, it is an idea.
That “intel” could provide incredible propaganda for his regime. The tired US trooper comes to Kim for aid. Begs him for help, and Kim looks like the kind savior who will help because he is a fair man would play huge in his regime. They would eat this up.
And yet…crickets.
This could mean that this Private is now being tortured by his guards, and they are doing everything they can to extract information that he doesn’t have. That answer would necessitate that Kim not allow it to be talked of in his regime. Instead, the people would turn a blind eye because he is doing what is needed to save their country from the oppressors.
That kind of information would be silent. The US wouldn’t have a clue about what was going on with him or how he was being treated. Unfortunately, with the early crickets, this is likely what the initial reaction has been.
On the South Korean side, Mikaela Johansson of Sweden took to social media to describe what she saw while she was on the Joint Security Area (JSA) border area. “To our right, we hear a loud HA-HA-HA, and one guy from OUR GROUP that has been with us all day- runs in between two of the buildings and over to the other side!! It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened, then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus.”
While troops previously crossed into the DMZ, the last recorded one was in 1962. Named James Joseph Dresnok, he lived there until he died in 2016. His death was confirmed by his family at that time as well. Others from across the globe have defected to act, but they are few and far between. They had plans and made connections. King had none of those. Hopefully, Kim will speak up soon because until then, it looks bad for King.
