After nearly a month of silence, North Korea has finally spoken out about Travis King – the US soldier who dashed across the border while on a guided tour from South Korea.
To the dismay of observers, however, the press release by the state-controlled media outlet, the Korean Central News Agency, offered no details as to his current condition or whereabouts.
North Korea’s own narrative portrays its people as the purer of the two Koreas, forced to live in an evil world led by its ultimate adversary, the United States
The North Korean announcement did, however, state that King entered the country hoping to seek political asylum, because he was seeking to flee ‘inhumane maltreatment’ and ‘racial discrimination’ in the US army.
It isn’t surprising that North Korea is trying to accuse the US of racism. The North has always viewed the United States as an antagonist determined to instigate regime change through sanctions, joint military exercises with South Korea and Japan, or by complaining about human rights breaches.
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