Mother of Army private in North Korea tells AP that her son ‘has so many reasons to come home’

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The mother of a U.S. Army private who mysteriously sprinted across the border into North Korea last month says her son, Travis King, has “so many reasons to come home. Claudine Gates spoke Wednesday to The Associated Press, casting doubt on a recent statement from North Korea’s state media that suggested her son might be seeking refuge there or in a third country. King had served in South Korea and sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18. Gates said she’s never heard her son articulate to her the comments critical of the U.S. that were attributed to him in the North Korean statement.