US scrambles to determine fate of soldier Travis King, who fled to North Korea

FILE PHOTO: A South Korean soldier stands guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

PAJU, South Korea/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. officials scrambled on Wednesday to determine the fate of an American soldier who made an unauthorized crossing into North Korea, handing Washington a new crisis in its dealings with the nuclear-armed state.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a regular briefing the Pentagon had "reached out" to counterparts in North Korea's Korean People's Army about the soldier, Private Travis King, but added: "My understanding is that those communications have not yet been answered."