U.S. Army Pvt. Travis King, who crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in July and entered North Korea without authorization, arrived back in the United States Thursday (Sept. 28) under U.S. military custody and faces unclear consequences for his actions.

Defense Department officials said King landed at Kelly Field at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston around 1:30 a.m. ET, CNN reports. Officials said they planned to take King to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for a program that helps formerly detained Americans reacclimate to life after detention.

At the medical center, King will undergo post-isolation support activities to address any trauma or post-traumatic stress he may have experienced during his detention, according to NBC News.

U.S. officials said Wednesday (Sept. 27) that King seemed in good health and spirits, happy to come home and reunite with his family.

But what will happen after the military releases King from the medical center is unclear. An Army spokesman said the immediate focus is King’s “well-being and privacy,” and officials will address his status “at a later time,” NBC News reported.

Before entering North Korea, King, 23, had just completed a jail sentence in South Korea, where he was stationed, for assault and other offenses, the Pentagon said. After his release from jail, U.S. military personnel escorted King to a commercial airport where he was scheduled to board a flight to the United States for administrative separation for discharge from the Army.

But he did not board the flight, U.S. officials said. Instead, he reached the DMZ, which separates South Korea from North Korea. He joined tourists visiting the Joint Security Area in Panmunjom when he crossed the border on July 19.

During his detention, North Korea said King told investigators he entered the country because he "harbored ill feelings against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army," according to CBS News.

On Wednesday (Sept. 27), the totalitarian government said it released King, who illegally entered the country, “in accordance with the laws of the Republic.”

Professor Yang Moo-jin, a North Korea expert, told CBS News that Pyongyang probably determined that King was “unsuitable for propaganda purposes" because he was a fugitive from justice. Also, Washington had a “lukewarm” response to the incident.

Returning King to the United States involved the help of other countries. The Swedish Embassy in North Korea serves as the United States protecting power for U.S. citizens since the United States and North Korea have no diplomatic relationship, according to the U.S. State Department.

Sweden helped facilitate King’s transfer. North Korea transported King to China, where U.S. officials received him. U.S. officials said they made no concessions for King’s release.

King’s mother, Claudine Gates, said, through the family’s representative, that she would be "forever grateful to the United States Army and all its interagency partners for a job well done," and requested privacy for the family.