Claudine Gates told The Associated Press that she remains perplexed by the actions of her son, who sprinted across the border into North Korea last month.
last month has “so many reasons to come home,” his mother said Wednesday as she cast doubt on a recent statement that suggested her son, Travis King, might be seeking refuge there or in a third country.released the statement through its state media in which it confirmed for the first time that it had detained the soldier and attributed comments to him criticizing the United States.
The official Korean Central News Agency said King, who is Black, had said he decided to enter North Korea because he “harbored ill feelings against inhuman mistreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.” The report also said that King had said he “was disillusioned at the unequal American society” and had expressed his willingness to seek refuge in North Korea or a third country.
Gates, in the interview with AP, said she had never heard her son express the sentiments attributed to him. Gates said she remains perplexed by her son’s actions. Birthdays are major milestones in the family, she said, and she couldn’t imagine her son willfully missing an opportunity to speak with her on July 26, her birthday.
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