The first court hearing for the U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last July has been delayed for talks on a plea deal, according to his attorney.

Pvt. Travis King, who faces a litany of charges including desertion and soliciting child pornography, will not appear in a military court for his scheduled hearing on Tuesday as attorneys discuss an alternative “resolution,” his lead counsel Franklin Rosenblatt wrote on social media.

“Tomorrow’s Article 32 hearing is delayed for two weeks by mutual request from prosecution and defense. The delay is because the parties are negotiating resolution of the case which if successful would obviate the need for such a hearing,” his statement reads.

Rosenblatt told U.S. media that he believes the talks will meet “both the needs of Pvt. King and the Army to resolve this case” and that the hearing “may no longer be necessary.”

The attorney told NK News he can’t supply any additional details at this time and does not want to “speculate on the likelihood of success” of negotiations between the prosecution and defense.

Tuesday’s hearing was supposed to take place at a military court at Fort Bliss, Texas and would have allowed each side to present evidence to determine probable cause and jurisdiction for further action, including a possible court-martial.

A U.S. Army memorandum, shared on social media by Rosenblatt last week, outlined the charges against King, namely attempted escape from custody, two counts of solicitation, one count of desertion and two counts of disobeying commissioned officers.

Joshua Stanton, a former U.S. Army judge advocate, told NK News that King will likely get either “the lower of the court’s sentence or the plea deal.” 

The expert said the defense will try to “persuade the court to impose a lower sentence,” which is known as “beating the deal,” as the prosecution will want King to agree to be sentenced by a judge alone.

The alternative option of seating a panel is “a lot of work,” Stanton said, and “any kind of sex offense is not what a defense lawyer wants to take to a military panel.”

King made headlines when he ran across the Military Demarcation Line at the inter-Korean Joint Security Area last July, with North Korea later claiming he sought asylum in the country to escape “abuse and racism” in the U.S. military and society. 

The then-23-year-old was supposed to board a flight back to the U.S. the same day to face disciplinary action over alleged misdemeanors while stationed in South Korea, including assault and damaging police cars, but left Incheon airport to join a civilian tour of the DMZ at Panmunjom. 

After two months of efforts to secure King’s release, North Korea eventually decided to “expel” him in late September via China, from where he traveled to the U.S. for “reintegration.” 

Upon his return, the U.S. Army charged King with crimes including soliciting another person to “knowingly and wilfully produce child pornography,” desertion and assaulting other soldiers.

Little had been disclosed about King’s whereabouts or condition since his return from the DPRK, until Rosenblatt announced last week that he had undergone debriefings at Joint Base San Antonio before being held at the Otero County Detention Center in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the designated pre-trial detention center for the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss. 

Rosenblatt previously criticized the military’s lack of transparency regarding King’s hearing, which authorities had not announced despite it being open to the public.

Edited by Alannah Hill