The legal team representing Pvt. Travis King, the US soldier who ran across the border from South to North Korea last year, is in plea negotiations with military prosecutors, according to King’s attorney.
King was expected to appear for a preliminary hearing in a military court on Tuesday at Fort Bliss, Texas, but it was delayed according to a spokeswoman for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel. The delay was requested by King’s defense counsel, with both sides jointly agreeing as negotiations are ongoing.
King is facing eight charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including desertion, possession of child pornography, assaulting a noncommissioned officer, and disobeying a superior officer. His case was taken over by the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel on July 10.
Rosenblatt, King's attorney, mentioned that the Article 32 hearing has been delayed for two weeks and may not be necessary if a plea agreement is reached. Details of the plea agreement were not disclosed.
King had been released from a detention facility in South Korea roughly a week before fleeing into North Korea in July 2023. He was returned to US custody last September and has been in pre-trial confinement since October 18.
Since his return, King spent time at the Defense Department’s reintegration center in San Antonio, Texas, before being transferred to a detention center in New Mexico.
The possibility of a plea deal was not confirmed by the Office of Special Trial Counsel, but prosecutors did not object to delaying the Article 32 hearing.
