Travis King, Army soldier who ran into North Korea, to plead guilty to desertion: Attorney

Travis King, the U.S. Army soldier who ran across the border from South Korea to North Korea last year will plead guilty, to desertion and assault charges as part of a plea deal, according to his attorney.

At a court hearing on Sept. 20 at Fort Bliss, Texas, King is expected to plead guilty to five of the 14 charges he is facing. The five charges include one for desertion, three for disobeying a lawful order, and one for assault on a non-commissioned officer.

King’s attorney, Franklin Rosenblatt, disclosed the plea deal in a statement provided on Monday to ABC News. The possibility of a plea deal for King’s case first came to light in mid-July.

“US Army Private Travis King will take responsibility for his conduct and enter a guilty plea,” Rosenblatt’s statement read. “He was charged by the Army with fourteen offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He will plead guilty to five of those, including desertion.”

“He will plead not guilty to the remaining offenses, which the Army will withdraw and dismiss,” he adds.

“Travis’s guilty plea will be entered at a general court-martial. There he will explain what he did, answer a military judge’s questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced,” said Rosenblatt. “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.”

According to a spokesperson for the Office of Special Trial Counsel, 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.

King will remain in pretrial confinement, the spokesperson said.

In July 2023, King crossed into North Korea, triggering an international incident when he was held by North Korean authorities for more than two months after he dashed into North Korea at the Joint Security Area at the DMZ. Prior to joining the tour group that brought him to the DMZ King had escaped from his Army escort at the airport where he was to have boarded a flight to take him back to the United States.