US asks N Korea to return detained US soldier

WASHINGTON, July 21 (TASS): The United States (US) has requested Pyongyang to return Private Travis King, a US soldier who without his commander's permission crossed South Korea's border with the North, US Department of State Spokesperson Matthew Miller has told reporters.
"We have relayed messages to the DPRK that Private King crossed on his own and we want him returned safely," Miller said.
He added that Washington had also asked for more info on King's health and well-being.
The US Department of Defence confirmed on July 18 that the US
soldier crossed the demarcation line separating the two Koreas without authorization and was taken in custody in North Korea.
According to Reuters, prior to his endeavor the man was waiting to be taken from South Korea back to the United States to face a disciplinary action.
A Reuters report adds: North Korea said on Thursday deployment of US aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet criteria for its use of nuclear weapons, state media KCNA reported, citing the country's defence minister, Kang Sun Nam.
The comments raise the stakes as each side steps up displays of military force in a standoff over the isolated country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
The defence minister's statement also accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions in the region while criticizing the first meeting by their Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG).
"The ever-increasing visibility of the deployment of the strategic nuclear submarine and other strategic assets may fall under the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons specified in the DPRK law," the statement said.
DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kang's remark was aimed at the nuclear-armed Ohio-class US ballistic missile submarine that arrived at a port in the southern city of Busan earlier this week.