Travis King fled to North Korea in search of ‘a better life’, disgusted “for him inhuman abusehe systemic racism in the US Army and disillusioned with his unequal society”. With these strong statements, almost a month later, the Pyongyang regime broke its silence about the young American deserter soldier.

The state news agency attributes those words to him, but the young man he has not been seen or heard. Adetailthat has his relatives worried, as confirmed by his spokespersons: “Ms. Gates is aware of the ‘information’ released by the KCNA. The authorities of that country are responsible for the well-being of Travis King, and she continues to ask that he be I treated him with humanity. she is a mother worried for his son and I would appreciate a call his phone number.”

An uncle of Travis has told the US media that in the past he would have suffered several racist episodes during military service. In any case, no one escapes that the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un likes to bring out the miseries of American society – the racismvery concretely- to distract from his tricky record with human rights.

“North Korea often highlights racism in the United States and uses it to counter US criticism to North Korea’s human rights situation, instead of engaging in negotiations with the United States,” explains a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in South Korea. “It seeks to cast a negative light on it and make it appear that the United States , which regularly points out human rights conditions in other countries, is not in a position to do so,” agree from the Stimson Center, a US-based think tank.

A landmark UN report on human rights in North Korea concluded that North Korea’s security chiefs, and leader Kim Jong-un himself, should be tried for a state-controlled system of Nazi-style atrocities. Travis King, 23, a ground soldier stationed in South Korea, crossed “of his own accord and without authorization” to the North, taking advantage of a visit to the demilitarized zone between the two. Something very touristy… except that at that very moment he had to be flying to the US.

They were waiting for him back at the ‘Fort Blessing’ base, in Texas, because he had not exactly been blessed during his South Korean tour: he had just passed 47 days jailed by various altercations: fightsclashes with the local police and destruction of material. As soon as she had arrived, she was facing a disciplinary process. The family, in close contact with the Army, emphasizes that the Department of Defense does not give up its efforts to bring him back to the United States. does not seem more easy than a month ago, when the North Koreans claimed that Private King had asked “shelter“, either in North Korea or in a third country.