A US Army private who tried to flee to North Korea will plead guilty to desertion and other criminal charges, his lawyer says

• US Army Pvt. Travis King will plead guilty to five criminal charges against him, his lawyer said.
• In July 2023, King ran across the DMZ into North Korea after fleeing from his tour group.
• King was charged with 14 offenses under military law, including insubordination and desertion.

Pvt. Travis King, the soldier who last month that the soldier “spent three weeks in debriefings and reintegration at Joint Base San Antonio.”

Once her son was back in the States, King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said that she loved him “unconditionally” and that she was “extremely concerned about his mental health,” according to a previous statement provided by Franks.

Since the family entered the spotlight, Gates has been adamant that “something happened to [King] while he was deployed.”

Franks told Military.com last year that “there was just a cluster of problems in the fall of ’22” and “everything goes to hell.” A person connected to King’s family said that period roughly coincided with a time when everyone was deeply emotional over the death of King’s little cousin.

In addition to Rosenblatt, who is a former Army lawyer and the lead military defense counsel for Bowe Bergdahl, King’s legal team includes Sherilyn Bunn, a civilian attorney from El Paso who “has extensive experience on Fort Bliss,” according to her firm’s website, and two military lawyers.