US cautions about Travis King's racial discrimination remarks

Washington cautioned Tuesday about the statements made by Travis King about maltreatment and racial discrimination against him within the military, a day after Pyongyang released some details about the investigation, adding that it is working for his safe return.

US soldier Private Travis King was detained in July after deliberately entering the nuclear-armed country during a border tour.

The 22-year-old soldier had been facing disciplinary action as he had been under detention for two months in South Korea and was released after facing assault charges.

According to the reports quoted by People, King's detention was the result of allegedly hitting a South Korean national in a club last September.

North Korea Tuesday issued the first official information since the soldier’s detention who maintained according to North Korean media KCNA that fled "racial discrimination" and bore "ill feeling toward the US Army.”

"We would caution everyone to consider the source here. That is incredibly important," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked about King’s purported remarks.

"It doesn’t change anything. We want to make sure that he gets home safely," she said.

At the State Department, spokesman Vedant Patel said the United States was "focused on his safe return."

"Our priority is to bring Private King home through all available channels to achieve that outcome. And his well-being continues to be a top priority for us," Patel said.

Patel said there has not been any contact with North Korea since Tuesday’s statement and that the US was making efforts via Sweden, which represents Washington in Pyongyang.

The US has previously said that King crossed the border at the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the North and the South "willfully and without authorisation."

The People reported that King was released from the South Korean prison on July 10 and was left for the US to face further action.