KCNA said King had been expelled after admitting to entering North Korea illegally because he was “disillusioned about unequal US society”.

Private Travis King, the US soldier who fled from South to North Korea in July, is in American custody after being expelled by North Korea into China, US officials said Wednesday.

It comes after North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said earlier Wednesday that authorities had ruled, after completing an investigation, that King “illegally entered the territory of the DPRK, under the laws of the republic”.

Last month, it reported interim findings that the 23-year-old reconnaissance specialist wanted refuge in North Korea or a third country because of maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army.

“King confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army and was disillusioned about the unequal US society,” KCNA reported.

“US officials have secured the return of Private Travis King from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement Wednesday.

The US thanked Beijing for allowing King to leave through China, with officials saying the soldier had now left Chinese airspace after being handed over to US custody there.

Swedish officials took Private King to the Chinese border city of Dandong, where he was met by the US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

“We appreciate the dedication of the inter-agency team that has worked tirelessly out of concern for Private King's wellbeing,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan thanked Sweden, which acts as Washington’s diplomatic liaison in Pyongyang, “and the government of the People’s Republic of China for its assistance in facilitating the transit of Private King”.

“We can confirm Pvt King is very happy to be on his way home, and he is very much looking forward to reuniting with his family,” a senior US administration official. “We are going to guide him through a re-integration process that will address any medical and emotional concerns and ensure we get him in a good place to reunite with his family.”

King sprinted into North Korea on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the heavily guarded Demilitarised Zone on the border with South Korea.

The soldier has been in the US Army since January 2021 and was in South Korea as part of a unit rotation.

Before entering North Korea, he had served two months in detention in South Korea on charges that he assaulted two people and kicked a police car. He was released from custody on July 10.

US officials said King had been due to return to the US for military disciplinary proceedings when he crossed the border.