Seoul, South Korea — The deputy commander of the U.N. Command mentioned Monday it has began conversations with North Korea over an American soldier who ran into the North last week across the Koreas’ heavily armed border.
Gen. Andrew Harrison mentioned the method has began by way of communications traces arrange at the Joint Security Area between the Koreas below the armistice settlement that stopped the preventing of the 1950-53 Korean Conflict. He mentioned the well-being of Pvt. Travis King stays the command’s main concern however refused to offer extra particulars, citing the sensitivity of the discussions.
North Korea has remained publicly silent about King, who crossed the border final Tuesday whereas he was purported to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas.
U.S. officers have expressed concern about his well-being and mentioned beforehand that North Korea was ignoring their requests for details about him.
Reuters
Harrison mentioned he “stays optimistic” however mentioned there was no method to know the way the dialog with North Korea would proceed. Civilian excursions to the Joint Safety Space have been suspended since King’s sprint throughout the border.
CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer says King’s defection “could come as unwelcome information to Kim Jong Un’s regime.”
Palmer factors out that Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat who defected some years in the past to South Korea, wrote on Fb that, “U.S. troopers who’ve crossed/defected to North Korea are inevitably a nuisance as a result of the cost-effectiveness is low in the long term” when it comes to propaganda and leverage for Pyongyang over Washington and Seoul.
King’s crossing got here at a time of excessive tensions within the Korean Peninsula, the place the tempo of each North Korea’s weapons demonstrations and the USA’ mixed army workouts have intensified in a tit-for-tat cycle.
Harrison’s feedback got here hours after South Korea’s army mentioned a nuclear-propelled U.S. submarine arrived at a port on Jeju Island within the second deployment of a serious U.S. naval asset to the Korean Peninsula this month. The arrival of the usAnnapolis provides to the allies’ present of drive to counter North Korean nuclear threats.
Final week, the usKentucky grew to become the primary U.S. nuclear-armed submarine to come back to South Korea for the reason that Eighties. North Korea reacted to its arrival in Busan by test-firing ballistic and cruise missiles in obvious demonstrations that it might make nuclear strikes in opposition to South Korea and deployed U.S. naval vessels.
In between these launches, North Korea’s protection minister issued a veiled menace insisting the Kentucky’s docking in South Korea could possibly be grounds for the North to make use of a nuclear weapon in opposition to it. North Korea has used related rhetoric earlier than, however the assertion underscored how a lot relations are strained now.
Analysts say North Korea could wait weeks and even months to offer significant details about King to maximise leverage and add urgency to U.S. efforts to safe his launch. Some say North Korea could attempt to wrest concessions from Washington, akin to tying his launch to the USA slicing again its army actions with South Korea.
The USA and South Korea have been increasing their mixed army workouts and rising regional deployments of U.S. strategic property like bombers, plane carriers and submarines in a present of drive in opposition to North Korea, which has test-fired round 100 missiles for the reason that begin of 2022.
The Annapolis, whose foremost mission is destroying enemy ships and submarines, is powered by a nuclear reactor however is armed with typical weapons. The Annapolis primarily docked at Jeju to load provides, however Jang Do Younger, a spokesperson of South Korea’s navy, mentioned the U.S. and South Korean militaries have been discussing whether or not to rearrange coaching involving the vessel.
