SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea on Wednesday was silent about the highly unusual entry of an American soldier across the Koreas heavily fortified border as some observers say North Korea is unlikely to repatriate him anytime soon amid heightened animosities between the former wartime foes.

A day after the soldier bolted into North Korea during a tour in the border village of Panmunjom on Tuesday, there was no word on the fate of Private 2nd Class Travis King, the first known American detained in the North in nearly five years . Earlier Wednesday, North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles into the sea in an apparent protest at the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea the previous day.

Its likely that North Korea will use the soldier for propaganda purposes in the short term and then as a bargaining chip in the mid- to long term, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.

King, 23, was a cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division who had served nearly two months in a South Korean prison for assault. He was released on July 10 and was being sent home Monday to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he could have faced additional military discipline and discharge from the service.

He was escorted as far as customs but left the airport before boarding his plane. It wasnt clear how he spent the hours until joining the Panmunjom tour and running across the border Tuesday afternoon. The Army released his name and limited information after Kings family was notified. But a number of U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, provided additional details.