BREAKING: American detained in North Korea

I have zero sympathy for Americans detained in places like North Korea, Iran, or Russia.

As a matter of fact, the State Department has advised against traveling to North Korea for years. It’s rated Level 4–Do Not Travel. One of the main reasons stated up front is the likelihood of wrongful detention.

Why anyone with any connected brain tissue would ever go to North Korea is beyond me. Is it another one of those stupid religious fundamentalists who think they're going to go there and convert everyone and somehow not find themselves in trouble.

I wonder if it attracts people who are addicted to thrill seeking. Because crossing into NK is one of the most dangerous things an American can do.

How would one " accidentally" cross into NK? How would that work, is that even possible? Because I have read at least three posts on SM that use the word " accidentally" and I am struggling to understand how tf that occurs, unless you are totally blind and deaf.

I trust nothing that North Korea claims about detained Americans.

R5- Exactly. I do not believe anyone accidentally crossed into their country, but were most likely marched at gunpoint.

R6, "Marched" by whom? N. Koreans who had crossed the border?

No. This is simply another American moron from our infinite supply.

Fucked around and found out.

A US soldier:

Bet he gets a personal one on one with 'Lil Kim

[quote]Fucked around and found out.

Indeed:

A woman who said she was part of the tour group said they were at the last stop when they heard a loud "HA-HA-HA" and saw the man, who'd been with the group all day, run "between two of the buildings and over to the other side."

I've been to Panmunjom aka the tourist center at the DMZ. You have to have an American or Japanese passport-- no Koreans allowed. Once you're there, it'd be really easy to run to the other side, which is what this guy did. He was being transported back to the US for disciplinary action, let out a crazy laugh, and ran for it. At least that's what I read.

I'm surprised the center is open right now. That tells me tensions aren't so bad with North Korea, because when they are, they close the center to visitors.

Please, tell me it's Dennis Rodman!

Go North Korea! 🤡

The service member was escorted to the airport, but instead of boarding his plane, he joined a tour of the Joint Security Area, where he broke away from the group and ran across the border, the official said, without giving further details on how the soldier was able to join the tour.

The tour guides chased after him, but did not catch him, and he was seen being taken into custody by North Korean soldiers. It was unclear if Private King planned to defect.

The soldier “willfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Col. Isaac Taylor, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Forces Korea.

R15- Death wish? Mentally ill?

I wonder what the situation is like in NK now. I saw a report that their citizens are starving again. It's just horrific. And they just take it, they don't seem to have the spirit to rise up en masse like other countries have when the population is starving.

The last news from NK that I read was about the rampant spread of covid. Rumors were that the infected were being executed by firing squad.

He just wanted to get away from The Biden Crime Family!

R17, The citizens do not have knowledge of the world. They know nothing about uprisings, revolutions, etc. They have no way of knowing about even the existence of other societies, let alone better ones. With food.

Good lord… and imagine this is the type of brainiac in active US military.

[quote]They have no way of knowing about even the existence of other societies, let alone better ones. With food.

Well, this isn't entirely true. Just as an example, smuggled copies of South Korean soap operas supposedly circulate fairly widely (or did under the previous Kim, anyway), even though it's very dangerous to have them, and as a result a lot of North Koreans have a pretty good idea of how South Koreans live. There's also steady traffic to and from China.

A few US soldiers defected to NK after the Korean War. There is an excellent documentary focusing on one of them, James Dresnock. He lived well by North Korean standards, I suppose, making propaganda films for the government.

Mom is in shock. No idea why son would do this.

He must have been suffering from a mental issue or break. No one in a stable state of mind would go sprinting into one of the most dangerous, miserable countries in the world otherwise. Would they?

What r22 said. With the number of people crossing the China-North Korea border, and the number of defectors who make it to South Korea, quite a bit is known about what's going on there now. At least, it's known among the regional powers. That wasn't the case 20 years ago, but it is today. I think it serves everyone's purposes to keep North Korea out of the headlines. By "everyone," I mean China, South Korea, Japan, and the US. None of those countries wants North Korea to fall because it would create a refugee and nuclear crisis of massive proportions.

Maybe he's just a big fan of Pulgasari, North Korea's epic monster movie.

That documentary is very interesting. I'm midway through it, R23. Thanks for posting it.

[quote] Why anyone with any connected brain tissue would ever go to North Korea is beyond me.

He had just finished two months confinement for fighting with the indigenous personnel and was being shipped home. He was not under arrest so had no escort to restrain him. The "HA-HA-HA" makes the story.

Assuming this is legitimate and not a CIA prank, at least the guy has good prospects to become a movie star.

r16 China also does not want to share a border with a united Korea (and thus staunch American ally).

Welcome, bro! Let's go drinkin'!

He's dead, Jim/

An American soldier who had served nearly two months in a South Korean prison, fled across the heavily armed border into North Korea, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

Private 2nd Class Travis King - who has served in the Army for more than two years - had been held on assault charges and was released on July 10 after serving his time.

According to officials, King, 23, was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. He was set to return to Fort Bliss to face military action after completing his South Korean sentence.

He was being held in jail for allegedly kicking a South Korean police squad car.

But instead of getting on the plane, King left the airport and later joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists.

Instead of getting on a plane to be taken back to Fort Bliss, Texas, he left and joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom, where he ran across the border, U.S. officials say.

However, his mother has spoken out, denying claims that he was fleeing and saying she desperately wants her son to return.

'I'm so proud of him. I just want him to come home, come back to America,' Claudine Gates told ABC News.

------------------

He was just turning his life around. He wanted to go to college and be a rapper.

[quote]He was just turning his life around. He wanted to go to college and be a rapper.

Oh fuck off.

My money's on some kind of a mental health crisis.

R34 Stupidity heath crisis.

“Go for it Eddie!” 🚗

Mental illness? How about just plain fucking stupid?

Who the FUCK goes to North Korea? Russia? I kinda get it. Even the Middle East, I kinda get. But FUCK North Korea.

Maybe he’s tired of being disrespected and wants to go to a more controlled society

Maybe he wanted to get out of an impending court-martial, r40.

His mother is wrong. He fled, he's not coming home, and there's no reason to be proud of him.

[quote] He was just turning his life around. He wanted to go to college and be a rapper.

He was obviously very serious about his life.

"He wanted to go to college and be a rapper. "

He made the right decision then.

[quote]Is it another one of those stupid religious fundamentalists who think they're going to go there and convert everyone and somehow not find themselves in trouble.

Well, I'm SURE I don't know what you mean, R2!

Why does King's photo look like it was taken in 1982 and has had coffee splattered on it numerous times?

Dare I say -- he looks like he smells cookies...?

Yes, R46 I was thinking this as well. Could it be that a Gay Black man would rather take his chances in NK than South Carolina?

Well, good luck with that.

The service member was escorted to the airport, but instead of boarding his plane, he joined a tour of the Joint Security Area, where he broke away from the group and ran across the border, the official said, without giving further details on how the soldier was able to join the tour.

The tour guides chased after him, but did not catch him, and he was seen being taken into custody by North Korean soldiers. It was unclear if Private King planned to defect.

Oh my god, can we see video of this with "Yaketty Sax" playing?

Such a weird story.

Did he buy snacks before he ran?

Ha R52. Supposedly there's a news conference about that soon today.

In situations like these, I just can't get behind the cavalier "fucked around and found out" attitude. Yes, he did something incredible stupid (I wouldn't be surprised if it was some kind of psychotic break), but he is a fellow American in a place that is extraordinarily hostile to America, and I sincerely hope he is released soon and unharmed.

In situations like these, I just can't get behind the cavalier "fucked around and found out" attitude. Yes, he did something incredible stupid (I wouldn't be surprised if it was some kind of psychotic break), but he is a fellow American in a place that is extraordinarily hostile to America, and I sincerely hope he is released soon and unharmed.

R55 don’t worry, dumbass. The US GOVERNMENT is on it, but we’re still going to be cunts about it.

Sorry for double post

He'd probably glommed onto some form of disinformation which led him to conclude something different from the commonly accepted wisdom regarding North Korea - and probably about the United States as well. It may not be altogether too different from what R19 jokingly suggests. Detachment from objective reality.

For whatever reason, this story makes me think of John Chau, the kid who was killed by Sentinelese Islanders when he approached three times, yelling, “Jesus loves you!”.

He was facing a court martial in the states.

Pretty sure he's getting tortured as I type and truthfully? I'm lowkey fine with it, he seems unhinged.

He's a nutcase. Poor dear.

Imagine throwing away your life like this…he won’t even know what’s hit him

r62 is a garbage human being.

Been there, done that, got the bodybag.

Oh Otto, you never did turn into a cold beer. I still wonder what the fuck happened to him. I just remember the pics of him coming off the plane, you'd think he'd be in a stretcher or something but he was being carried by two guys, one had his legs, one his arms, like he passed out a frat party.

I'll always wonder too, r67

I'm pretty sure the explanation is that they attempted medical care, probably sedation for his trial, that went awry and he ended up brain dead. Could swear that I'd read a report from some medical personnel involved in the transfer of Otto back to the US.

Wait, really R69? So the thing about his teeth was not real, I think I read that, his dad said his teeth were all pulled or some weird shit implying he'd been tortured for awhile.

[quote]he won’t even know what’s hit him

He'll figure it out.

No, that wasn't true, R70. They did an autopsy; news story linked below.

He had extensive brain damage, but they couldn't determine the cause.

[quote]Sammarco agreed with University of Cincinnati Health system doctors who treated Warmbier and said they found no evidence of botulism or evidence of fractures or healing fractures that might point to beatings. She said a forensic dentist agreed with her conclusion there was "no evidence of trauma" to Warmbier's teeth.

[quote]Sammarco said Warmbier's body, including his skin, was in surprisingly good condition for someone who had reportedly been bedridden for more than a year, indicating he received regular care. Her office's report said his body appeared "well-nourished." There were multiple scars and bruises, some apparently stemming from medical procedures.

I thought so R72! Why did his dad say that? That was odd.

Charitably, they were shocked by his appearance and thought that they'd seen a lot of things wrong with him (he was howling and twisting around, his sister fled the plane screaming after coming aboard and seeing him, etc.), so maybe it was the trauma speaking. Uncharitably, they were a bit nuts. People do get very dramatic about things that supposedly happen in North Korea. It's bad enough as it is, but remember the story that went around the world about "Jong-Un's uncle was fed to the dogs and eaten alive," or whoever it was, and the guy later showed up safe and sound?

[quote]Private 2nd Class Travis King - who has served in the Army for more than two years - had been held on assault charges

Mental health issue is right. Dude is a sociopath/psychopath or has some other personality disorder.

Right-Wing propagandists are in every walk of life, r73.

That's quite a leap you're taking from assault to psychopath, R75.

He's a something-o-path, at any rate.

More likely a mental illness such as bipolar disorder.

Holy shit, R58, he’s gorgeous. Poor guy.

R75, the assault charge had to do with kicking a South Korean police squad car.

r79 I am thinking schizophrenia, although bipolar disorder makes sense too. He's what, 23? That's a plausible age of onset. Plus -- and there is a lot controversy about this -- Black Americans are something like 2x more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than other demographics. (There's been a lot of research on this fact.)

[quote] Private 2nd Class Travis King - who has served in the Army for more than two years

Guy isn't exactly Sgt Rock. Two years and still a Second Class E-2. The normal progression is PFC after one year if not sooner. This long in if Travis had anything at all going for him by now he should be up for Specialist E-4

Who the fuck cares if was moving up the ranks or not? What earthly difference does it make?

r83 he was demoted after disciplinary action, per an article I read (I can't remember which one)

Secretary of the Army offers a keen insight.

That's why she makes the big bucks.

I've always wondered if Otto at least got to keep the flag he allegedly stole from the hotel. It would have been a gesture of goodwill from the North Koreans to send it home with him.

The top YouTube comments on some of the old Otto footage are totally different than the top comments on this story.

People seemed far more willing to forgive Otto's blunder and wanted to see him released safely.

Traitor. Lock him up, North Korea!

It was a propaganda poster, r87. In essence, he dissed Kim Jong Un. One doesn't do such things in a totalitarian country and expect to go unpunished.

Perhaps he just heard the hot springs and mountain climbing in NK are fabulous, and he just had to go see for himself!

R88, I can’t imagine what the difference is here

R73, Otto Warmbier's parents are/were MAGAs. I remember them very quickly going on FOX News and pointing the finger at Obama and the Democrats.

Nevermind that a Democrat, NM's Bill Richardson, was probably the American politician who tried the hardest to negotiate his release....

Has North Korea offered any new information?

R94- I do not remember where I read this and it is difficult to describe but I read he was put in some type of wave pool. The water would be released to fill the space and the people in the chamber or whatever the word is would struggle to keep treading with their head above the water. Basically the person was repeatedly half drowned and resuscitated until brain damage occurred. That is the best description that I can give and I hope this rumor wasn't true.

Chilling r95

That's Chinese Water Torture, this was in Korea.

Maybe they did experiments on Otto like the Nazis did to their victims.

This kid looks like a cookie sniffer. Perhaps he was being harassed combined with some mental health issues.

i doubt it's true, R95. He'd already "confessed" publicly and begged for the court's mercy when he was still walking and talking. What more would they be hoping to extract from him, and what evidence has been provided as a basis for that rumor? Though whatever he went through in custody is currently a mystery, every other dramatic allegation about their treatment of Otto Warmbier has been found baseless so far.

I thought the DMZ was the most heavily fortified border in the world. If that's the case, why wasn't he stopped from even crossing?

It's odd that he was able to get into North Korea. I'd assume the South Koreans would have blocked him from getting that far. I suppose the North Koreans couldn't immediately return him because once he was on their soil their protocol is to arrest and detain for illegal entry.

This whole story is bizarre. North Korea is claiming that the solider is seeking asylum there?

R103, it was at Panmunjom specifically, not along a heavily armed and barbed-wired border of the dmz. Take a look at some pictures of the Joint Security Area, especially where NK and SK guards stand yards apart, and you'll see how he did it.

At this point any idiot who is still willing to risk crossing over the border into North Korea should be left to their own devices and fate.

R106 The tourists from R105 that watched him run are weird too. Why go there?

No sympathy for any moron who obviously planned to go sprinting into North Korea. You're a fool. It's one thing to cross a border accidentally, but this was clearly intentional. It's like the moron who thought that pushing his religion on North Sentinel Island was a good idea. Hint: It's not.

Idiot Americans simply do not understand that other countries don't tolerate bullshit. Many just don't slap you on the wrist, but beat you with a club.

[quote] other countries don't tolerate bullshit.

North Korea is OK with this. The deserter will be put to work in scripted news interviews damning the racist US.

That's my thinking, r109. He's useful to them in that sense.

I wonder if part of it was because it's a forbidden thing. Maybe somewhere in his twisted mind he thought he'd get a wrist slap and then get sent back the next day after his little adventure.

The fate of other U.S. Army defectors. English teachers and movie stars.

[QUOTE]Dresnok and three fellow American military defectors including Jenkins, Jerry Wayne Parrish and Larry Allen Abshier lived in relative isolation for years before becoming stars of North Korean cinema by depicting evil Americans in propaganda movies promoted by then leader Kim Jong-Il.

But I love him! He writes me wonderful letters!

He's so obnoxious, they're expelling him two months earlier than planned.

No really, feel free to keep him.

They recognize he is a lunatic and want him out-NOW

Did we ever get the whole story?

He's fine! He sends his love!

Excellent acrobatics

His parents must be so proud