SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An American soldier facing disciplinary action fled across the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday and was believed to be in North Korean custody, U.S. officials said, creating a fresh crisis for Washington in its dealings with the nuclear-armed state. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed concern for the soldier, who the U.S. military in Korea said was on an orientation tour of Joint Security Area between the Koreas and "wilfully and without authorization crossed the Military Demarcation Line into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)."
I think he knew that and still made the choice. There’s a handful of US defectors in the DPRK because they were ideologically closer to communism than imperialism, so maybe he’ll fare as well as he hopes.
I doubt this was ideological. He would have tried this earlier in his time in the military and likely wouldn’t have joined the military at all I would imagine
Ideology changes over time. Being in the military is often a catalyst for big changes to ideology.