North Korea has been silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas’ heavily fortified border. Travis King, who bolted across the border Tuesday, is the first American known to be detained in the North in nearly five years. Although the North test-fired short-range missiles on Wednesday, this latest weapons display was seen as unrelated. Instead, the launches were suspected to be a protest at the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea the previous day. King had served time in a South Korean prison for assault and was being sent home to Fort Bliss, Texas, when he disappeared. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed King was likely now in North Korean custody.
