“We don’t know where he is,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said during a briefing with reporters.
“We don’t know the conditions in which he’s living in right now.”.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh later told reporters that the whereabouts of King are unknown, as North Korea hasn’t responded to U.S. outreach.
“Unfortunately, no, we have not heard any communication or correspondence from the North Koreans on this incident,” she said.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday that King’s case is “an extremely high priority” and messages have been relayed to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the formal name for the North Korean government.
But instead, King booked a ticket to a South Korean tour to the demilitarized zone with North Korea, joining it from the airport. »
