THE United States military was scrambling today to determine the fate of one of its soldiers who crossed into North Korea this week as the rival state remained silent on his detention.

Travis King joined the US army in 2021 and was facing disciplinary action, but his motive for “wilfully and without authorisation” bolting across the inter-Korean border was not officially known.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said: “We believe that he is in [North Korean] custody and so we’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next of kin.”