US soldier who fled to North Korea to plead guilty to desertion

The U.S. Army soldier who crossed the border from South Korea into North Korea last year will plead guilty to several charges, including desertion and assault, as part of a plea deal, his lawyer recently confirmed.

Travis King’s attorney, Franklin Rosenblatt, announced the plea deal in a statement provided to ABC News on Monday.

“Travis King will take responsibility for his actions and plead guilty,” Rosenblatt said. “The Army has charged him with 14 offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He will plead guilty to five of them, including desertion.”

However, King will plead not guilty to the remaining charges, which will be dropped and dismissed by the Army, Rosenblatt said.

“Travis will plead guilty before a general military court. There he will explain his actions, answer the military judge’s questions about his plea, and receive his sentence,” Rosenblatt added. “Travis is grateful to his friends and family for their support, as well as to those who did not prejudge his case based on the initial allegations.”

A court hearing is scheduled for September 20 at Fort Bliss, Texas, where Private King is expected to plead guilty to five of the 14 charges he faces. The charges include one for desertion, three for disobeying lawful orders and one for assaulting a noncommissioned officer, ABC News reported.

If King’s plea is accepted, the judge will sentence him under the terms of the agreement, a spokesman for the Office of Special Trial Counsel said. The case could be tried in an adversarial court if the judge does not accept the plea.

King crossed into North Korea in July last year, sparking an international incident when North Korean authorities detained him for more than two months after crossing the DMZ Joint Security Zone.