U.S. Soldier Facing Disciplinary Action Flees to North Korea

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Morning everyone!

For those who had a Taco Tuesday feast last night, get this. Taco Bell prevailed in its fight to liberate the phrase “Taco Tuesday” which was trademarked by its rival taco chain, Taco John’s.

That means restaurants across the country can finally use the crowd-favorite phrase to promote taco deals, on Tuesdays, as they wish.

Now that’s something to taco ‘bout! (Sorry, we had to!).

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🗞 SOLDIER APPEARS TO DEFECT TO NORTH KOREA

An American soldier is being detained in North Korea after crossing the border without authorization. He is the first known American to be taken into North Korean custody in five years.

WHAT WE KNOW
U.S. officials have identified him as 20-year old Private 2nd Class Travis King. A military official said he “willfully and without authorization” crossed into North Korea.

King had just been released from a prison in South Korea, where he was being held on assault charges, and was facing military disciplinary actions upon his return to the US.

The soldier made a run for it Tuesday afternoon, after being escorted from the prison to the airport, where he was supposed to board a flight for the US. The military escort made it as far as the customs checkpoint, but had no ticket and was not allowed further, so King continued into the terminal alone.

But instead of getting on the plane that would eventually take him Fort Bliss, TX, King fled, tagging along with a group of tourists heading to the Korean border village named Panmunjom, home to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

He then broke from the group and "bolted" across the border. A member of the tour group told CBS News they had just visited one of the buildings at the site when "this man gives out a loud 'ha ha ha,' and just runs in between some buildings." Security forces tried chasing him down, but couldn’t catch him in time.

WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
U.S. officials are still trying to piece everything together. They are pursuing more information about King, how long he was planning this escape and any previous communications with North Korea.

His mother, Claudine Gates, told ABC News that she last heard from him “a few days ago” and said his actions on Tuesday don’t sound like him.

THE DANGER OF THE DMZ
The DMZ is the heavily-armed border that separates South Korea from communist North Korea. Security is extremely tight along both sides. It’s one of the most tense, dangerous, and high-risk borders in the world. 

It actually formed 70 years ago next week, when the armistice agreement was signed in 1953 between the two Koreas to formally end the Korean War… but hostility most certainly still lingers.

Panmunjom is the only place inside the 155-mile-long, 2.5-mile-wide DMZ where tourists are allowed. They can visit the area from South Korea while unarmed soldiers trail closely behind.

REACTION FROM WASHINGTON
President Biden was briefed on the situation, though the White House declined to say how much political capital it would expend to secure King’s return after he willfully crossed the border.

"The White House, the Department of Defense, the State Department, and also the U.N. are all working together to ascertain more information and resolve this situation," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

HISTORY OF AMERICANS DETAINED IN NORTH KOREA
The soldier detained yesterday was the first known American to be detained by North Korea since 2018, when Bruce Byron Lowrance was held in custody for a month and released after illegally entering the country from China in 2018.

Another American who was recently detained was Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student visiting North Korea, who was arrested in Pyongyang in 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster off the wall of his hotel. After 17 months in captivity under severe conditions, he was released in a coma and with extensive brain damage. Warmbier was flown back to his hometown in Ohio, where he died six days later.

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: JULY 19

• 1848: The US women's suffrage movement was launched with the opening of the Seneca Falls Convention. Their goal: to gain certain rights and privileges for women, including the right to vote.

• 1980: The Summer Olympics opened in Moscow, though some 60 countries refused to attend because of the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

• 1984: New York Democratic Representative Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman to accept a major party’s nomination for VP of the United States

• 1995: The movie Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, premiered in theaters. As if!

• 2007: The first episode of Mad Men aired on AMC.