In north korea, the regime confirming for the first time it has custody of an american soldier who bolted into its territory last month. What the north is claiming he said. And back at home, Soccer Superstar lionel messi propels his miami team to new heights. We begin this morning with a Wildfire Devastation in hawaii. This morning, the white house announced President Biden and the first lady will travel to maui on monday to meet with First Responders and survivors. And as the death toll climbs to 106, were starting to learn the identities of some of the victims. They include 74yearold robert vickman, 79yearold buddy jantoc, franklin teros, who was trying to save a friends dog, Carol Hartley who lived on lahaina for 36 years and a family of four that was trying to escape. And as news crews with Cadaver Dogs Scour the area, a growing number of families are facing a grim reality, one man spoke with our affiliate khnl outside a morgue, saying he was waiting to identify his stepfathers rem
The defense department telling nbc news it couldn t verify north korea s comments of private king, adding, quote, we remain focused on his safe return. his family back in wisconsin is concerned, telling nbc news last month i hope you come home soon and we can start back over. reporter: president biden set to host leaders from south korea and japan at camp david, where the growing threat of kim jong-un s weapons program will top the agenda. i suspect at some point travis king will be put on trial in north korea and he will be given a sentence. reporter: north korea saying nothing about king s well-being or what he faces. because travis king crossed into north korea as a civilian, the u.s. has not yet designated him a prisoner of war. there are a lot of unanswered questions on this. for now, king s mother is appealing for some sign that
Region, no lines of communication with north korea, and little certainty about what happens next. this morning for first time north korea confirming custody of travis king, the american soldier who did a cross border dash last month into north korean territory. state-run kcna now claiming private second class king, who is 23, wants to seek refuge there, or in a third country. a statement saying he confessed to illegally entering to escape, quote, maltreatment and racial discrimination within the u.s. army, adding he was disillusioned with the unequal american society. even if the north koreans were to come out and say he wants to defect, you couldn t trust the words, they would be not coming from private king himself. reporter: king bolted during a private group tour of the heavily fortified demilitarized zone. he was due to return to the u.s.