Travis King, the US soldier who fled from South to North Korea and was subsequently brought back to the US last month, is reportedly confronting various charges. These charges include

desertion, soliciting and possessing explicit images of a child, as well as assault against fellow soldiers.

While these charges have not been officially announced, it appears that he is facing a total of eight charges, as initially reported by Reuters news agency. The charge of desertion alone could result in King being sentenced to jail following his journey to North Korea in July.

Private King is also accused of displaying a pattern of misconduct before his escape to North Korea, which includes an attempted escape from US military custody in October 2022, as per reports from Reuters news agency.

Additionally, he is accused of soliciting a Snapchat user in July 2023 to produce child pornography with intent. He is also accused of possession of child pornography.

His mother, Claudine Gates, has requested that her son be given the presumption of innocence.

Before crossing into North Korea, Pvt King was serving with the US Army. He had been in the Army since January 2021 and was stationed in South Korea as part of a rotation.

Leading up to his entry into North Korea, Pvt King had spent two months in detention in South Korea on charges of assaulting two individuals and damaging a police car. He was released from custody on July 10, just eight days before crossing into North Korea.

The deal securing his release was facilitated by Swedish officials, who escorted Pvt King to the border between North Korea and China. Many details about his treatment in North Korea, the reason for his initial escape, and why North Korea decided to release him remain largely unknown. Photo by Mark Scott Johnson from Sydney, Australia, Wikimedia commons.