A US Army soldier who was temporarily detained A North Korean man captured after crossing the demilitarized zone last year was declared a fugitive on Friday and sentenced to 12 months in prison after being found guilty of four charges, including assaulting an officer.
The military court judge at Fort Bliss in Texas reportedly told Travis King that he could face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty without a plea.
King was declared free on Friday because he had served 338 days in jail awaiting trial and had been of good conduct.
He also received a dishonorable discharge from the United States Army.
“Having already served his sentence and given credit for good behavior, Travis is now released and will return home,” his attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told Fox News.
King was also charged with nine other felonies, including possessing sexual images of a child, The charges against him were withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of the plea agreement he reached, according to the Associated Press.
King will cross the heavily guarded border from South Korea in July 2023 and will be the first American to be detained in North Korea in nearly five years.
His visit to North Korea came shortly after his release from a South Korean prison, where he had spent nearly two months in prison on assault charges.
About a week after his release from jail, military officials took him to the airport so he could return to Fort Bliss to face disciplinary action.
They were taken to customs, but instead of boarding the plane, they joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom.
He then fled across the border, which is manned by security forces and often crowded with tourists.
King was eventually taken into custody by North Korea, but about two months later Pyongyang abruptly announced it would expel him.
On September 28, he was Sent back to Texas, and is in custody there.
King spent a total of 71 days in North Korean custody.
Lawrence Richard of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
