US soldier Travis King to plead guilty to desertion, assault after bolting into North Korea

The US Army private who bolted across the South Korean border into North Korea will plead guilty to desertion and assault as part of a plea deal, according to his lawyer.

Travis King will also cop to disobeying an officer, and assaulting a noncommissioned officer, his attorney Frank Rosenblatt told CNN Monday.

“US Army Private Travis King will take responsibility for his conduct and enter a guilty plea. He was charged by the Army with fourteen offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” Rosenblatt said in a statement. “He will plead guilty to five of those, including desertion.”

King will plead not guilty to possession of child pornography charges, which Rosenblatt expects to be dropped.

King — who fled to North Korea in July 2023 after getting sprung from a Seoul jail for allegedly punching someone at a club — will plead guilty at a court marital hearing and “explain what he did” in Fort Bliss, Texas, on Sept. 20, when he’ll also be sentence, the lawyer added.

“Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside of his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations,” Rosenblatt said.

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