On the surface, the story breaking today of an American soldier making a dash across the DMZ in the Joint Security Area seems exceedingly strange.

As more of the story is being revealed, the circumstances just get weirder. After all, one does not simply walk into Mordor North Korea, so how did this American serviceman get there, and how did he manage to just run off?

The official word came in from the United Nations Command, confirming that North Korea has an American in custody.

A U.S. National on a JSA orientation tour crossed, without authorization, the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident. pic.twitter.com/a6amvnJTuY

— United Nations Command 유엔군사령부/유엔사 (@UN_Command) July 18, 2023

The rest of the details? That’s where the story takes a massive left turn.

The detainee has been identified as Travis King, a US Army member with the rank of private second class, reported South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo newspaper, citing South Korea’s army.”

King was taking part in a visit to the Joint Security Area — the border village in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas that is guarded by soldiers from both sides — when he reportedly crossed the border around 3:27 p.m. local time, according to local reports.”

An eyewitness who was part of the same tour group as King told CBS News that they had just visited one of the buildings at the JSA village when “this man [King] gives out a loud ‘Ha, ha, ha,’ and just runs in between some buildings.”

What the actual hell. Apparently, Travis King was supposed to be headed out of South Korea, and no one seems to know how he got to the tour group, or why he was wearing civilian clothes when he decided to cross over.

According to South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo newspaper, the man is a private in the U.S. Army. Unnamed American officials similarly told The Washington Post that the man is a U.S. Army soldier. One also said that the detained man was recently scheduled to get on a flight to the U.S. but he never boarded the plane, adding: “This was a deliberate decision on part of the service member to cross.” The United States is now reportedly trying to establish his whereabouts and condition.”

According to NK News, a witness on the same tour saw one a male member of her group run across the border as they visited the JSA.”

“To our right, we hear a loud HA-HA-HA and one guy from OUR GROUP that has been with us all day- runs in between two of the buildings and over to the other side!!” Mikaela Johansson of Sweden wrote. “It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened, then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus.”

She reportedly added that visitors at the JSA had been asked by authorities not to share images of the incident.”

It is being reported by the UK Mirror that the American soldier in question missed his flight “due to disciplinary reasons,” but no one seems to know how he got into the tour group, or why he decided to run over the line. What everyone seems to agree on is that this entire thing was deliberate.

US soldier who crossed into North Korea did so intentionally in civilian clothes. While on tour of DMZ the Army Private broke away from the tour group and was then detained by North Korean security: US official tells Fox.

— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) July 18, 2023

Now, is Travis King defecting? I’m not sure a private second class has a whole lot of operational value to the North Koreans, beside the propaganda factor. Obviously, the allegation that there was a disciplinary issue is one that I’m sure will be investigated. But what on earth could drive someone to run across the North Korean border, cackling like a maniac? Are we dealing with someone who never belonged in uniform, who is mentally ill? Or is this just a dumbshit who decided to play a stupid game, and will win a stupid prize?

Without more information, and knowing that King dressed in civilian clothes and attached himself into a tour group before making his run for it, I’m leaning toward the “stupid” theory. “Defect” is such a loaded term. Without knowing what King was actually trying to do, it’s impossible to label him as a “defector” when he could just be an idiot who thinks he’s playing the ultimate game of hide and seek with the United States Army, or someone who had a mental break and did the unthinkable. And being dressed as a civilian just adds another weird layer to the story. Usually, a defector wants to prove their operational value to whomever their are trying to pledge allegiance to. We have no idea if Travis King took anything with him (but something like a flash drive would be easy to conceal), and without his uniform, will the North Koreans actually treat him as military?

North Korea has a long history of using and abusing American hostages, and often those stories don’t have a happy ending. And North Korea is more than happy to shoot their own defectors when they cross over. I am sure that we will be learning a whole lot about Travis King’s motives and end goals very quickly, but I’m also certain that he shouldn’t be looking to be rescued any time soon.

Hope my man knows how to play basketball. https://t.co/6DmtN1rCF5

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 18, 2023

Hang on to your hats, everyone. I have a feeling this story is just going to continue to get stranger and weirder.

UPDATE 5:45 PM ET
And now we get even more weird. Mistakes were definitely made here.

The incident happened a day after King was escorted to a South Korean airport following his release from prison, where he had been jailed for an altercation with locals. He was due to fly back to the US and report to Fort Bliss, Texas.”

But in a near-farcical twist, King was only taken as far as security – then left alone because his minder was unable to pass through with him without a ticket.”

Instead of getting on the plane at Incheon International Airport, he managed to leave the airport, then headed for the border tour.”

The Korean Herald reported the US national had ‘defected’ to North Korea, although officials in the Pentagon and State Department have not given a motive for his actions.”

King is believed to have spent two months in custody in South Korea. He then spent a week under observation at a US base in South Korea before leaving the facility on Monday.”

Someone is definitely going to be in trouble for not getting King on the airplane. And this guy – who is reportedly 23 years old – sounds like a behavior problem with some screws loose. Why on earth would he get out of jail in South Korea, have the chance to go back to the United States, and trade that in for a more permanent jailing in North Korea?

Featured image: Korean Joint Security Area border village with demarcation line, Trump White House Archived Flickr on June 30, 2019, cropped, public domain