Travis King faced assault allegations, damaged police car before running to North Korea
The US soldier who ran across the border into North Korea Tuesday was facing multiple assault allegations as well as a fine for damaging a police vehicle.
Army Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, was accused of punching a man several times in the face at a club on September 25 last year, Seoul court records indicate.
Two weeks later, on October 8, Korean authorities responded to another dust-up involving King, who was allegedly displaying “aggressive behavior,” according to the court documents.
When police put him in the backseat of the patrol car, King reportedly spouted expletives and insults aimed at Koreans, the South Korean army, and the police.
He then kicked the patrol car door several times, resulting in about 584,000 won, or $460, in damages, the ruling said.
King, who had no previous offenses, later pleaded guilty to charges of assault and destruction of public goods, and paid $790 to repair the patrol car, the court stated.
On February 8 this year, the Seoul Western District Court also fined him 5 million won, the equivalent of approximately $3,950.
King was facing disciplinary action from the US military, according to two anonymous US officials.
It was not immediately clear if the censure was related to the October incident.
The solider spent time in US military detention in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, following the October debacle, one of the lawyers who represented him at the time claimed.
A spokesperson for the US Forces Korea (USFK), however, declined to confirm whether King had been in South Korean or US military detention.
King was set to fly back to the US on Tuesday when he slipped his military escort and was spotted wearing civilian clothes at a tour of the Joint Security Area — the border village in the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas that is guarded by soldiers from both sides.
“It took everybody a second to react and grasp what had actually happened, then we were ordered into and through Freedom House and running back to our military bus,” a Swedish visitor who was on King’s tour wrote of the moment he purportedly ran across the border, loudly cackling “ha-ha-ha.”
“I thought it was a bad joke at first, but when he didn’t come back, I realized it wasn’t a joke, and then everybody reacted and things got crazy,” another witness said.
US officials say King made a “deliberate decision” to cross into North Korea, but they have not elaborated on how he eluded officials en route to the airport and made it to the demilitarized zone.
“We’re closely monitoring and investigating the situation and working to notify the soldier’s next-of-kin and engaging to address this incident,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters Tuesday.
King is believed to be in custody in North Korea, the UN Command said on Twitter.
“We believe he is currently in DPRK custody and are working with our KPA counterparts to resolve this incident,” the message continued, referring to North Korea’s Korean People’s Army.
King’s mother, Claudine Gates, reportedly was shocked by her son’s defection.
“I can’t see Travis doing anything like that,” the Wisconsin woman told ABC News late Tuesday.
Gates said she last spoke to her son a few days ago, and was eager for him to come home.
“I’m so proud of him. I just want him to come home, come back to America,” she lamented.
King’s uncle reportedly said the solider had been “breaking down” over the tragic death of his 7-year-old cousin, who died this winter after battling a rare genetic disorder that had him on life support.
“When my son was on life support, and when my son passed away … Travis started [being] reckless [and] crazy when he knew my son was about to die,” Carl Gates told the Daily Beast Wednesday.
“I know it was related to what he did,” said Carl, who is Claudine’s brother.
There is currently a State Department travel advisory ban on US citizens entering North Korea due to “continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals.”
The ban was put in place after American college student Otto Warmbier was detained by authorities during a tour of the country in 2015.
The University of Virginia student died in 2017, shortly after he was released from prison and was returned to the US in a coma.
King’s detainment came on the same day that the ballistic-missile, nuclear-capable submarine USS Kentucky arrived in Busan, South Korea, the first port visit to the country by a Navy sub in about 40 years.
“Kentucky is a launch platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles, providing the United States with its most survivable leg of the nuclear triad,” the Navy said in a statement Tuesday.
“The visit represents the United States’ ironclad commitment to the Republic of Korea for its extended deterrence guarantee, and compliments the many exercises, training, operations and other military cooperation activities conducted with the ROK,” referring to the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.
With Post wires
