(LEAD) N. Korea decides to expel U.S. soldier Travis King

North Korea 19:34 September 27, 2023

(ATTN: ADDS details, photo)

SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Wednesday it will expel Travis King, a U.S. soldier who has been detained in the North after running across the inter-Korean border in July.

Pvt. Travis King made an unauthorized crossing of the Military Demarcation Line into the North during a tour to the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas on July 18.

"The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to expel Travis King, a soldier of the U.S. Army who illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK, under the law of the Republic," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in what it called the final findings of an investigation into King. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The announcement came weeks after the secretive regime confirmed the U.S. soldier's border crossing for the first time on Aug. 16, saying he "illegally intruded" due to "inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army."

The state media did not provide further details on when and how King will be expelled.

Shortly after the North's first confirmation of King's detention, the U.S. Department of Defense said the alleged comments by King cannot be verified and that it is focused on bringing him back home.