WASHINGTON: A US soldier who fled to North Korea last year will plead guilty to desertion at a court martial as part of a plea deal, his lawyer said.
Private Second Class Travis King ran across the border from South Korea into the North in July last year while on a sightseeing tour of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.
North Korea expelled King in September and the US Army later charged him with desertion and a raft of other crimes.
King’s lawyer Frank Rosenblatt said Monday the US Army had charged the soldier with 14 offenses and that he would plead guilty to five of them.
“He will plead guilty to five of those, including desertion, 3 counts of disobeying an officer, and assault on a noncommissioned officer,” Rosenblatt said in a statement.
“He will plead not guilty to the remaining offenses, which the Army will withdraw and dismiss.”
King’s guilty plea and sentencing hearing would take place on September 20 at a court martial in Fort Bliss, Texas, the lawyer said.
“There, he will explain what he did, answer a military judge’s questions about why he is pleading guilty, and be sentenced,” Rosenblatt said.
Desertion carries a jail sentence of up to five years.
“Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all those outside of his circle who did not pre-judge his case based on the initial allegations,” his lawyer said.
At the time of the incident, King had been stationed in South Korea and after a drunken bar fight and a stay in South Korean jail, he was meant to fly back to Texas to face disciplinary hearings.
Instead of traveling to Fort Bliss, he walked out of the Seoul-area airport, joined a DMZ sightseeing trip and slipped over the fortified border where he was detained by the communist North’s authorities.
Pyongyang had said that King had defected to North Korea to escape “mistreatment and racial discrimination in the US Army.”
But after completing its investigation, North Korea “decided to expel” King in September for illegally intruding into its territory.
King’s border crossing occurred with relations between the two Koreas at a low point, with diplomacy stalled and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calling for increased weapons development, including tactical nuclear warheads.
US soldier who fled to North Korea to plead guilty to desertion: lawyer
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US soldier who fled to North Korea to plead guilty to desertion: lawyer
- Private Second Class Travis King ran across the border from South Korea into the North in July last year
- North Korea expelled King in September and the US Army later charged him with desertion and a raft of other crimes
South Korea tightens security for opposition leader over suspected plot, Yonhap reports
- Move comes after the Democratic Party had last week urged police to ramp up security for Lee Jae-myung
- Some main opposition party lawmakers were tipped off about an assassination plot targeting Lee
The move comes after the party had last week urged police to ramp up security for Lee after some of its lawmakers said they were tipped off about an assassination plot against him.
Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In January last year, Lee was stabbed in the neck by a man who lunged at him with a knife after asking for his autograph.
The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to media reports.
Tensions have been running high in South Korea since President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law last December, triggering the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
His martial law imposition and its fallout have widened deep social rifts between conservatives and liberals and put pressure on institutions.
Yoon faces a criminal trial on charges of insurrection, while the Constitutional Court is also expected to rule in coming days on whether to uphold his impeachment and permanently strip him of his powers.
Police have been preparing for the risk of clashes, with both Yoon’s supporters and his opponents are due to hold large rallies when the court makes its decision.
South Korea’s acting President Choi Sang-mok repeated on Tuesday a call for citizens to accept and respect the court’s ruling.
Hundreds of Yoon supporters stormed a court building in January after his detention was extended, smashing windows and other items, an attack the acting leader called “unimaginable.”
Bangladesh rebukes US spy chief over religious violence remarks
- Washington’s intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard arrived this week for a diplomatic trip to India
- New Delhi has repeatedly accused its Muslim-majority neighbor of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens
DHAKA: Bangladesh has rebuked Washington’s intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard, saying her comments on religious violence in the South Asian country were unfounded and risked fanning sectarian tensions.
Gabbard arrived this week for a diplomatic trip to India, whose relations with Bangladesh have soured since a student-led uprising overthrew the latter nation’s government last year.
New Delhi has repeatedly accused its Muslim-majority neighbor of failing to adequately protect its minority Hindu citizens – charges denied by the caretaker administration now in charge.
But Gabbard appeared to give credence to the claims when she was asked about violence in Bangladesh during a Monday interview with Indian broadcaster NDTV.
“The long-time unfortunate persecution, killing, and abuse of religious minorities... have been a major area of concern for the US government,” she said in response.
She added that the issue, along with Islamist extremism, remained “central focus areas of concern” and said the Trump administration has already raised them with the Bangladeshi government.
Bangladesh responded in a statement late Monday that Gabbard’s comments were both “misleading” and “damaging” to the country’s image and reputation.
“Political leaders and public figures should base their statements, especially on sensitive issues, on actual knowledge and take care not to reinforce harmful stereotypes, fan fears, or potentially stoke sectarian tensions,” the statement said.
Hindus make up about eight percent of Bangladesh’s 170 million people.
In the chaotic days following the August ouster of autocratic ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, there was a string of attacks on Hindus – seen by some as having backed her rule.
The caretaker government that replaced her has insisted that many of those attacks were motivated by politics rather than religion.
It has also accused India’s media and government of spreading disinformation exaggerating threats to Bangladeshi Hindus.
Gabbard met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last month soon after her confirmation as director of national intelligence under President Donald Trump.
The pair met again on Monday and Gabbard used a speech to a geopolitical conference in New Delhi to praise the enduring partnership between the United States and India.
“I am confident that this partnership and friendship between our two nations and our leaders will continue to grow and strengthen,” she added.
India orders curfew after violence over tomb of 17th-century Muslim ruler
- Violence in the central Indian city of Nagpur damaged many vehicles and injured several people
- Situation escalated after several members of Muslim groups marched near a police station and threw stones at police
MUMBAI: Authorities clamped indefinite curfew on parts of the Indian city of Nagpur after more than a dozen police officers were hurt in clashes sparked by a Hindu group’s demand for the removal of the tomb of a 17th-century Mughal ruler, police said on Tuesday.
Monday’s violence in the central Indian city damaged many vehicles and injured several people, among them at least 15 police personnel, one of whom was in serious condition, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, where the city is located, criticized the violence in a video message, calling for every effort to maintain law and order.
“I have told the police commissioner to take whatever strict steps are necessary,” Fadnavis added.
Police said in a statement that members of the group, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), burnt an effigy of the Emperor Aurangzeb and his tomb as they chanted slogans demanding its removal from the nearby city of Aurangabad.
The police officer said the situation escalated after several members of Muslim groups marched near a police station and threw stones at police.
The attackers, wearing masks to hide their faces, carried sharp weapons and bottles, a resident of the area told the ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
The VHP denied accusations of engaging in any violence. It wants the tomb to be replaced with a memorial for rulers from the local Maratha community, its general secretary, Milind Parande, said in a video message.
Nagpur is also the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The VHP belongs to the same family of organizations.
Modi’s critics have often accused him of discriminating against Muslims, and failing to act against those targeting them. He and his government have denied the accusations.
Strange foam and dead fish wash ashore at 2 Australian beaches as surfers fall sick
- The goverment closed Waitpinga Beach and neighboring Parsons Beach on Monday. Dozens of dead fish have reportedly been washed shore
- Surfers have been complaining since the weekend of getting sore eyes, sore throats and coughing after contact with the water
MELBOURNE: An Australian state closed two beaches after dead fish and an unusual off-white foam washed ashore while surfers reported feeling unwell, officials said on Tuesday.
A microalgal bloom created by unusual weather conditions was suspected to have sickened humans and marine life as well as creating the foam that has covered hundreds of meters (yards) of coastline, South Australian Environment Protection Authority principal scientific officer Sam Gaylard said.
“It is very concerning,” Gaylard told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“It is unusual at this scale. At this time of year, when the weather conditions allow, we do occasionally get isolated blooms, but something of this scale is definitely a little bit unusual,” Gaylard added.
Waitpinga Beach and neighboring Parsons Beach, both south of the South Australia state capital Adelaide, have been closed to the public since Monday in response to a “fish mortality event in the area,” the Department for Environment and Water said in a statement.
“The beaches will be re-opened as soon as possible,” the department said.
Dozens of dead fish have reportedly been washed shore.
Surfers have been complaining since the weekend of getting sore eyes, sore throats and coughing after contact with the water, said local Anthony Rowland, who surfed at Waitpinga on Saturday.
“While we were out there, we started coughing,” Rowland said, refering to his surfing comrads. He said he was overwhelmed by the response from other surfers after posting his experience online.
“Lots of people reached out – so many people have said they’re had exactly the same symptoms,” Rowland said.
Marine scientists took water samples from the foam, which is a byproduct of the toxic organisms’ decay, on Monday, but it could take until the end of the week to identify the organism, Gaylard said.
A bloom of microalgae – microscopic, single-celled organisms – could have been caused by a recent extended period of hot and dry weather with little wind and low tides, Gaylard said.
A swell has picked up in the area since Sunday, and the turbulence could break up the algae while generating more foam, he said.
“At the moment, we’re not sure how long this will last,” Gaylard said.
Turkiye’s Erdogan seeks meeting with Trump, Bloomberg News says
- Erdogan’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments
ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is working to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, potentially by late April, Bloomberg News said on Tuesday, citing Turkish officials familiar with the matter.
Erdogan sees closer US-Turkiye ties as crucial for regional stability, particularly as Ankara seeks a bigger role in mediating conflicts from Ukraine to Syria, the report added.
Erdogan’s office and the White House did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments.
In the battle against militant group Islamic State in Syria, the United States is allied with a Syrian Kurdish militia that Turkiye regards as a terrorist group. Turkiye has sharply criticized this US stance as a betrayal of a NATO ally.
Turkiye’s 2019 purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems also led to US sanctions and the country’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program.
On Sunday, Erdogan spoke by telephone with Trump, discussing efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and to restore stability in Syria.
He told Trump that Turkiye supported his “decisive and direct initiatives” to end the war between Russia and Ukraine and would continue to strive for a “just and lasting peace,” Erdogan’s office said in a statement.
