North Korea has said US soldier Travis King crossed into its territory last month because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the army.
The 23-year-old private dashed across the border from South Korea on 18 July while on a guided tour.
Private 2nd Class (PV2) King “expressed his willingness to seek refuge” in the North, the country’s state media said.
The claims, which are the North’s first public comments on the case, could not be verified independently.
US officials said earlier they believed the soldier had crossed the border intentionally.