US does not know where American soldier is who fled to North Korea

The United States is not aware of the location or well-being of the American soldier who fled to North Korea earlier this week, the White House said on Thursday.

Travis King, a Private 2nd Class in the army, is believed to be in North Korean custody after it was revealed he “willfully” crossed over into North Korea earlier this week, reportedly sprinting from a tour of the demilitarized zone on the South Korean side.

“We don’t know where he is. We don’t know the conditions in which he’s living in right now,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing with reporters. 

“We’re still doing everything we can to try to find out his whereabouts, his well-being and condition and making it clear that we want to see him safely and quickly returned to the United States,” Kirby continued.

“We don’t have any updates to share with you, again, not for lack of trying, we just don’t have anything.”

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday that King’s case is “an extremely high priority” and that messages have been relayed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the formal name for the North Korean government.

But he would not discuss if there was any response.

Miller also did not confirm if the DPRK received the message sent by the U.S., saying that they “are confident that we have the ability to send them messages.”

The Pentagon has identified King as a junior enlisted soldier who was the recipient of a handful of awards, but other reporting have had U.S. officials say that King was the subject of disciplinary action and his flight into North Korea occurred as he was supposed to be heading back to the U.S. to face charges.

NBC News reported that King had spent 48 days in a South Korean prison after failing to pay a fine on charges including damaging public property.

American military police reportedly accompanied King to an airport in South Korea and watched him pass through customs before he texted his handlers that he was at the gate and preparing to board. 

But instead, King booked a ticket, and joined from the airport, a South Korean tour to the demilitarized zone with North Korea. The area, known as the Joint Security Area (JSA), is one of the only places to have an opening into North Korea along the nearly 160-mile, fortified border between the two countries, which technically remain at war. 

Miller said that there’s no reason to believe King had any communication with North Korean officials before he crossed.

King’s crossing comes at a time of heightened tension between the U.S. and North Korea, with the isolated east-Asian nation under intensive international sanctions for its illicit nuclear weapons program, its cyber-hacking for financing and weapons supplies to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Caleigh Kelly contributed to this report.