North Korea concluded that Travis King wants refuge there or in another country because of "inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination" in the US and the military, state media said on Wednesday, Pyongyang's first public acknowledgement of King's crossing from South Korea on July 18.
A private in the US Army, King dashed into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.
US officials have said they believe King crossed the border intentionally, and have declined so far to classify him as a prisoner of war.
North Korean investigators have also concluded that King crossed deliberately and illegally, with the intent to stay in the North or in a third country, state news agency KCNA said.
"During the investigation, Travis King confessed that he had decided to come over to the DPRK as he harbored ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the US Army," KCNA reported, using the initials of North Korea's official name. "He also expressed his willingness to seek refugee in the DPRK or a third country, saying that he was disillusioned at the unequal American society."
KCNA said King was "kept under control by soldiers of the Korean People's Army" after his crossing and the investigation is still active.
King's uncle, Myron Gates, told ABC News in August that his nephew, who is Black, was experiencing racism during his military deployment, and that after he spent time in a South Korean jail, he did not sound like himself.
US officials have so far said that the North had not provided substantive responses to requests for information on King.
The Pentagon said it could not verify King's comments as reported by KCNA, and remains focused on his safe return. It did not address whether it had heard more details from North Korea.
According to Reuters, the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the United Nations Command (UNC), which oversees the border village where King crossed, said he did not have anything to add to previous statements.
