In early May 2024, the media reported that a US Army sergeant had been detained in Vladivostok. This incident inspired a number of conspiracy theories, many of which sought to draw parallels with the attempted defection of a US private to the DPRK six months ago. But in reality the two incidents are very different.

Travis King’s story

It is now more than six months since North Korea extradited to the United States a Black serviceman named Travis King who, after serving time in a South Korean prison for disorderly conduct and fighting while drunk, tried to escape to the DPRK posing as a political refugee because, he claimed, he “harbored hard feelings about the inhumane treatment and racial discrimination in the US military.”

King was the first American to be detained in North Korea in nearly five years. However, the North Koreans quickly realized who they were dealing with and chose not to make him a prisoner of conscience and further aggravate their relations with the USA. The private was sent to America via China and as reported by the South Korean newspaper The Korea Times, was most likely taken to an army hospital for a psychological examination and questioning about his time in the DPRK. Given his legal status as a deserter, he will be in custody the entire time.

On October 20, it was reported that Travis King had formally been charged with desertion, obtaining child pornography and a number of other offenses including initiating fights with other servicemen and consuming alcohol in violation of the applicable rules. He is expected to stand trial in the near future, but as Rachel VanLandingham, a national security law expert and professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, told The Korea Times, the investigation could take some months, although King could simply be discharged from the US Army without charges.

What has happened before in cases like this? According to VanLandingham, the last soldier to be returned to the US by America’s adversaries was Bowe Bergdahl, who deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009, was kidnapped by the Taliban and was held captive and tortured for nearly five years. After his return following a prisoner exchange, he was court-martialed for desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Bergdahl pleaded guilty to both charges in 2017, but a judge overturned his conviction in 2023.

After King’s return to the US the news about him dried up, but the stories about American soldiers in Korea have not gone away, and new reports periodically surface in the media. We will look at some of these in this article.

Gordon Black’s story

On May 6, 2024. NBC News reported that US Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, who was serving in South Korea, had been detained in Vladivostok on May 2 “on charges of criminal misconduct.” According to a statement by US Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith, “The Russian Federation notified........

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