US-North Korea communication halted after soldier's crossing

The U.S. State Department has not had any substantive communication with North Korea since U.S. soldier Travis King crossed into the North, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

FILE PHOTO: A U.S. flag hangs on the porch and a "Proud parent of a U.S. Army soldier" sticker adorns the car outside the home of 23-year-old Private Travis King's mother in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S., July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Eric Cox/File Photo

Published on:

26 Jul 2023, 3:33 pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has not had any substantive communication with North Korea since U.S. soldier Travis King crossed into the North last week, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday.

Miller said Washington has made outreach to ascertain the whereabouts of King and to ascertain information about his safety, but have not received any response.

King, a U.S. Army private serving in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone on the inter-Korean border.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Jasper Ward and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Chris Reese)