A soldier, who made a reckless snap decision to cross over the DMZ into North Korea, has been handed a prison sentence of one year following his dramatic dash across the border.

The defector, Travis King, 24, faced an army tribunal and entered guilty pleas for a series of charges including desertion and the assault of a non-commissioned officer. Now kicked out of the army, the Private was caught up in a South Korean assault investigation prior to his escape attempt and had plead guilty to those charges as well.

The 24-year-old was part of a civilian tour group when he made a break for it to flee justice, through the heavily militarized zone separating the two still-warring countries, on July 18. After being held in the "Hermit Kingdom", he finally returned to American soil in September.

On Friday, at Fort Bliss, Texas, a military judge sentenced him to 12 months; however, with 338 days already chalked up in an American detention center, plus an extra 63 days in Northern custody, King is effectively a free man - despite being the first defector to the Communist state in four decades.

The Mirror reports that his attorney, Frank Rosenblatt, triumphantly declared: "With time already served and credit for good behaviour, Travis is now free and will return home."

Meanwhile, Major Allyson Montgomery from the army's office of the special counsel stressed the significance of the verdict, stating to an army outlet: "The outcome of today's court martial is a fair and just result that reflects the seriousness of the offenses committed by Pvt. King and will promote good order and discipline within the US Army by deterring soldiers from committing similar offenses in the future."

King, who has since been discharged from the military, was due to face disciplinary action in the US after his release from South Korean custody. However, he managed to escape from Seoul's international airport while under escort by military police and joined a civilian tour of the border area between North and South Korea.

In an astonishing twist, he then made a run for North Korea where he was immediately detained. He reportedly laughed as he crossed the border, according to Swedish tourist Mikaela Johansson, who said on a Facebook post that she was on the tour at the same time as the soldier.

This incident comes fifty years after US soldier, James Dresnok, defected to North Korea in 1962 while facing threats of a court-martial. It is believed that there have been roughly six military defectors to the country since the end of the Korean War in 1953, with the previous one taking place in 1982.