LONDON, July 19. /TASS/. The American soldier who illegally crossed the inter-Korean border from South Korea into North Korea previously faced charges in Seoul for damaging a police car and insulting Koreans as well as the South Korean army, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a court ruling.
The first incident occurred in a South Korean club in September 2022. The court ruling, made available to the news agency, says that the US army private, Travis King, punched a man in the face several times. However, the case was promptly dismissed.
Two weeks later, the South Korean police detained King while responding to another altercation in which he was involved. The court document says that the soldier did not answer questions from police and continued with his "aggressive behavior." After being placed in the police car, King shouted expletives and insults against Koreans, the South Korean army and police. Moreover, he kicked the police car’s door several times.
In February 2022, the Seoul Western District Court fined him 5 million won ($4,000). The soldier pleaded guilty to "assault and destruction of public goods" and paid 1 million won ($790) in damages.
On July 18, the US Department of Defense confirmed that a US service member had willfully crossed the demarcation line from South Korea and was detained in North Korea. Reuters reported citing sources that the soldier had been due to be transported from South Korea to the United States to face disciplinary action from the US military.
Matthew Miller, Spokesperson for the US Department of State, said during a briefing that Washington had not yet contacted Pyongyang over the incident.