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[Text/Observer Network Wang Kaiwen] According to reports from foreign media such as CNN and Reuters on August 26 local time, Travis T. King, an American soldier who was expelled from North Korea for illegal entry last year, will plead guilty to multiple charges based on an agreement reached with US prosecutors.

"U.S. Army Private Travis King will be held accountable for his actions." King's lawyer Frank Rosenblatt issued a statement on the 26th saying that the U.S. Army has charged Travis King with 14 counts of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He will plead guilty to five of the counts, including deserting his post without permission, assaulting non-commissioned officers and three counts of disobeying officers' orders, but denies the allegation that he possessed child pornography.

Rosenblatt said Travis King's military court hearing will be held at Fort Bliss, Texas on September 20 local time, where he will plead guilty, explain his actions and accept the verdict.

The U.S. military news website "Military" stated that Travis King's legal disputes can be traced back to nearly two years ago. On September 25, 2022, Travis King, who was serving in South Korea, was charged with assault for pushing and beating a customer who refused to buy him a drink at a bar in Seoul, but the charge was later dropped.

Two weeks later, on October 8, 2022, Travis King was arrested again in Mapo, Seoul, where he allegedly refused to answer police questions, yelled "Damn Koreans, damn Korean army, damn Korean police," and kicked the door of a police car. He was fined about $3,950 and ordered to pay nearly $800 in damages to the police car. It was reported that Travis King also kicked a sergeant in the head and hit a second lieutenant in the head that day.

After a series of troubles, the U.S. Army ordered Travis King not to leave the military base, to be accompanied by someone when he left the barracks, and not to drink alcohol.

According to NBC, Travis King was sentenced to 48 days in prison in South Korea for failing to pay a fine in Mapo and was released on July 10, 2023.

After being released in South Korea, Travis King was supposed to return to the United States for further military disciplinary action, but he did not board the flight back to the United States as planned. Instead, he quietly joined a tour group to the Demilitarized Zone between Korea and North Korea on the morning of July 18, 2023, and then crossed the military demarcation line into North Korea without authorization.

On August 16, 2023, a U.S. soldier who crossed the border into North Korea spoke out for the first time. The mid-term survey released by the Korean Central News Agency pointed out that according to Travis King's confession, he "was disgusted with the inhumane abuse and racial discrimination within the U.S. military and was determined to defect to North Korea." Travis King also said, "He was extremely disappointed with the unequal American society and expressed his willingness to go into exile in North Korea or a third country."

On September 27, 2023, the Korean Central News Agency stated that North Korea decided to expel American soldiers who illegally entered North Korea. On the same day, the US confirmed that Travis King had boarded the plane back to the United States, and thanked the Swedish government for its diplomatic role as the US mandate protectorate in North Korea and the Chinese government for providing assistance to Travis King's transit.

CNN previously reported that after Travis King returned to the United States, he first stayed in the U.S. Department of Defense's re-entry center for three weeks, and was then sent to Fort Bliss Military Base, where he was detained until his trial.

Travis King's legal team had been negotiating a plea deal with military prosecutors. Rosenblatt told Military on August 26: "The negotiations we conducted were in the best interest of King and the United States Army."

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