July 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The deputy commander of the United Nations Command, General Andrew Harrison, reported Monday that talks with North Korea have begun to try to recover the US soldier Travis King, who a week ago crossed the border voluntarily and without authorization.
Harrison has said that the dialogue within the Joint Security Area between the United Nations Command and the Government of North Korea “has begun”, although he has regretted not being able to give more information about it.
“I am limited by what I can say (…) It is possible that they will not get the answers for which they are desperate,” he said this Monday in a meeting with journalists in Seoul, the South Korean capital, according to .
In this sense, he has explained that King’s well-being is “at stake” and has defended the need to “not speculate” or give too many details about communications, which may affect their proper functioning.
King crossed the Military Demarcation Line as a civilian one day before his scheduled return to the United States, where he was due to face disciplinary action for his misbehavior while deployed in South Korea, where he was detained for several days.
Since then, nothing has been heard from King. US Army sources have said there was no indication the soldier was trying to defect and that he will be decommissioned once he lands on US soil.
The United Nations Command is a US-led multinational military force that fought on the South Korean side during the Korean War (1950-1953). It controls the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area, the only place where Pyongyang and Seoul can meet for negotiations.
