Seoul: North Korea has decided to expel American soldier Travis King who it said has confessed that he illegally intruded into the country, state media KCNA said on Wednesday.
"King confessed that he illegally intruded into the territory of the DPRK as he harboured ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. army and was disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society," KCNA said.
DPRK is the initials of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Authorities have decided to expel King under the country's law, KCNA said, but did not specify how, when or to where he would be expelled.
The US State Department and the White House could not be immediately reached for comment.
King, an army private, made a sudden dash into North Korea from the South on July 18 while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border between the neighbours.
There have been several attempts by US soldiers stationed in South Korea to desert or defect to North Korea, but King's expulsion came relatively quickly compared to others who have spent years before being released from the reclusive country.
