Black US Army private who fled to North Korea over ‘racism’ faces child porn, desertion charges

According to court records obtained by Reuters, the case against the 23-year-old includes eight distinct charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

King was released in September after spending more than two months in North Korea’s custody, and was flown to a Texas military hospital on September 28 for a health evaluation. According to the Army, King planned on abandoning the military permanently when he left his post in South Korea and ran across the demilitarized zone.

The Army’s charge sheet accuses King of broad misconduct before his defection into North Korea, including an October 2022 alleged attempted escape from US military custody.

The same month he abandoned his post and fled, King was also allegedly caught in possession of child pornography and asked another Snapchat user to “knowingly and willingly produce child pornography.”

King was also charged with assault and insubordination for leaving his base after curfew and drinking alcohol in violation of Army regulations.

King’s family has supported him since he fled his post and has hired a legal team that includes Franklin Rosenblatt, who was previously the lead military defense counsel during the court martial proceedings against Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who abandoned his post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held by the Taliban for five years.

In September 2022, King was accused of punching a man multiple times in the face at a club. Two weeks later, King was arrested for displaying “aggressive behavior” and in the process of the arrest, allegedly damaged the backseat of a police car during a tirade against Koreans that was laced with profanity.

Before he was slapped with two assault charges, King was facing military disciplinary charges and a dishonorable discharge in the US.

According to the New York Post, King told investigators that he decided to flee to North Korea because he "harbored ill feelings against inhuman treatment and racial discrimination within the US Army."

King said he was "disillusioned at the unequal American society."