Yeah...i don't even know what to think about this whole story. Was he being genuine? Did he do something to piss off the US government? Is he really a spy sent by the CIA in the lamest attempt of all time to infiltrate the DPRK? Why did the DPRK not offer him asylum? Did they send him back to US occupied Korea or is he allowed to go to China or Russia? I feel like this may be one of those bizarre episodes that will forever remain a bit of a mystery.
Assuming he is actually telling the truth then i don't see why the DPRK authorities couldn't just send him on to China, or better yet, Russia where they have a proven track record of taking in asylum seekers fleeing persecution by the US government.
Guess he was just trying to run from the consequences of his assholery.
Maybe theres someone who can shed light on a question like this, but hypothetically if a westerner were to claim irreconcilable ideological differences and loss of economic opportunity with, say, the US and seek asylum, what are the odds that would be granted in the DPRK? In fact let's go further and say that you are a reasonably well-read Marxist and can prove it.
Would you be granted it? Would they pass you on to China? I can't help but feel like they would call you a larper and tell you to fuck off (lol) if you don't know their language, since I assume SK->DPRK defectors are usually granted some kind of mercy especially if the defection is on economic (poverty/economic violence) grounds. Or you would need some useful skill/background. But they really do have to protect their socialism with vigilance.
I am not familiar with the DPRK at all beyond knowing they are a sovereign socialist nation.
It isn't without precedent, there were US soldiers that have defected in the past. James Dresnok defected during the Korean war and lived the rest of his life there. His children serve in the military now if I recall correctly.
I think they would be conscious of the fact that the world is different now than it was then, and are also aware that the US would be VERY interested in getting them back out for propaganda purposes. They'd be reluctant to take anyone without significant vetting, and even then it probably wouldn't be worth their trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to use King to do that anyway. "I was only there for a short time but I saw Kim personally force feeding babies mud!". Maybe somebody higher ranking in the US command structure that could give DPRK valuable information.
Also when you say westerners, do you mean Americans? Because it is quite possible for westerners to live and work there, at least temporarily. There were a lot of teachers from western countries at the university (Kim Il Sung University) I did my research at while I was there.
EDIT: Aw, I got my own personal lib stalker downvoting every single post I have ever made. The sheer waste of time is adorable.
Yeah I've heard of some of the US defections in the war. Those were incredible stories.
By westerners I just mean, if you were say American (and don't have an academic/highly specialized background), jumped the DPRK border, and said you are a Marxist and cannot afford American rent, if they would let you in - as opposed to being South Korean and defecting North.
That kind of scenario I imagine would be pretty unlikely. The authorities would likely be very suspicious of any ulterior motives, for good reason. Not to mention there would be likely diplomatic fallout that they might not want to deal with, even if your motives were totally pure. Not for the average person at the very least, they tend to repatriate most defectors these days.
If you came through more legitimate channels and wanted to stay, I could see that being a more feasible course of action. I honestly don't know what the path to naturalization looks like, I can't imagine it comes up a lot, though the DPRK is a jus sanguinis country as far as citizenship birthrights.
Thanks for the input. Yeah it seems pretty tough for any ole American to just cross the border. And that's a good point that someone could try working there legitimately which would give the DPRK some sort of real relationship to vet you with rather than just common ideology that any spy could receive training to fake. And any foreigner working there is probably aligned anyway.
Maybe if any random non Korean person just jumped the border the DPRK would rather you have just gone to another socialist country more integrated to the world instead.
All I can think of offhand is there is a person who did something (somewhat) like that in 2015, although not to try and live there but because he said he just wanted to see DPRK for himself and he also hoped he could do something to improve inter-Korean relations, though he was "not sure" how. He was born in south Korea and moved to the US as a child. At age 21 is when he snuck in to DPRK via China. He was arrested (as he expected) and held in custody in what he called very comfortable conditions, and he got taken around to museums, schools, orphanages, hospitals and such to learn about them. He did some press conferences about his experience where he expressed gratitude to the leadership and for being able to learn about the country (here's a CNN report with a video interview of him where he says he's been treated very well) and then DPRK released him to south Korea. Edit: Also, I tried to check for follow-up information about him, but I'm having trouble finding anything.
Ah I do recall hearing about something like this before. Thanks for sharing it. I'll check it out.
The DPRK maintains that they will allow or at least consider all cases of defection from capitalist and imperialist countries and offer asylum, though that is only on paper. I was really hoping they would offer Travis King asylum or at least allow him to move to China or Russia. My heart is broken for the poor guy, even if he made racist comments. The U.S. military will probably use him as a fleshlight or kill him.
It's tough but it kind of makes sense they'd not allow him in if he wasn't treating Koreans well. South Koreans are Koreans just as much as North Koreans. And any complications resulting in changing countries stemming from his existing legal troubles may not have been worth dealing with. In effect he may have been simply using DPRK as a means to escape justice instead of as a means to more prosperous life.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
That makes complete sense. I doubt that legal complications would matter much though.
Still, I think it would have been nice if the DPRK offered an olive branch and took him in. I understand why they didn't, but it still sucks.
He claimed that he ran over because he was tired of racism in the US Army, he’s gonna have a looooooot of explaining to do to his commanding officers.
