The US Army private who spent two months in North Korea last summer after running across the border at the demilitarized zone will plead guilty in his court martial to five counts including desertion, a charge that can lead to a three-year prison term, Politico reports.
In exchange for Travis King’s plea, prosecutors will drop nine other charges, including possession of child porn. King’s story is odd: After spending two months in a South Korea prison on an assault charge while he was stationed there, King was escorted to a civilian airport from which he was going to start a journey to Fort Bliss, Texas where he would face military charges for the incident.
After his escort left him at customs, King fled the airport as part of a group of tourists who went to the border town of Pyongyang. From there, King broke off from a group of tourists passing by the ceremonial border crossing and ran into North Korea, becoming the first American detained in five years.