American detained in North Korea was fined in Seoul
Seoul, Jul 19 (EFE).- A United States soldier who crossed the border into North Korea was fined in South Korea for kicking and damaging a police car in February, according to anonymous sources quoted Wednesday by Yonhap news agency.
Travis T. King, a 23-year-old private second class, appears to be in the custody of North Korean authorities, the United Nations Command reported Tuesday.
US media said King was in the process of returning to the US as a disciplinary measure in connection with allegations of assault.
Sources consulted by Yonhap say a South Korean court fined King KRW 5 million (about $3,900) for repeatedly kicking the rear door of a police car in the early hours of Feb. 8 in Seoul, causing damages worth about KRW 584,000 (about $460).
The incident allegedly occurred after he was stopped by a patrol car and King refused to cooperate and provide his personal information.
The same sources said he was also involved in an alleged assault at a nightclub in September 2022, also in Seoul, but that the alleged victim did not press charges.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday that a US private had voluntarily crossed the Military Demarcation Line that divides the Joint Security Zone in two, to which he had gone on a tourist visit.
The line is located in the heart of the Demilitarized Zone, the 4 kilometer-wide strip that serves as the border between the two Koreas, technically still at war, since the conflict war between then between 1950 and 1953 ended in a ceasefire instead of a peace treaty. EFE
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