While officers have stated King, 23, is in good well being and the fast focus will likely be on caring for him and reintegrating him into US society, his troubles are probably removed from over.
At the time, he was presupposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, following his launch from jail in South Korea on an assault conviction.
He has been declared AWOL from the Army. In many instances, somebody who’s AWOL for greater than a month can mechanically be thought of a deserter.
Punishment for going AWOL or desertion can differ, and it relies upon partly on whether or not the service member voluntarily returned or was apprehended. King’s handover by the North Koreans makes that extra sophisticated.
Video aired on Thursday by a Texas news station appeared to indicate King strolling off a airplane in San Antonio. Dressed in a darkish prime and pants, he could possibly be seen talking briefly with folks ready on the tarmac. He shook palms with one earlier than being led right into a constructing.
Emails in search of remark had been despatched to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, the Air Force and the Army.
Officials earlier stated he can be taken to Brooke Army Medical Centre at Fort Sam Houston. He is predicted to endure psychological assessments and debriefings, and he will even get an opportunity to satisfy with household.
He will likely be in army custody all through the method since his authorized scenario is sophisticated.
Many questions stay about King’s case, together with why he fled within the first place and why the North — which has tense relations with Washington over Pyongyang’s nuclear program, help for Russia’s battle in Ukraine and different points — agreed to show him over.
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The White House has not addressed North Korean state media reviews that King fled due to his dismay about racial discrimination and inequality within the army and US society.
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that King made such complaints however verifying that’s unimaginable.
On Wednesday, Swedish officers took King to the Chinese border, the place he was met by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, the Swedish ambassador to China, and at the very least one US Defence Department official.
He was then flown to a US army base in South Korea earlier than heading to the US.
His detention was comparatively brief by North Korean requirements.
Source: www.9news.com.au
