A U.S. soldier faced two assault allegations and had been fined for damaging a police car in South Korea before fleeing into North Korea, according to a report. Travis King made an unauthorized crossing over the border dividing the Koreas on Tuesday, with U.S. officials now working to establish his whereabouts. According to Reuters, King pleaded guilty in a South Korean court to assault and destruction of public goods relating to an incident in October last year, with the court also noting that he had punched a man several times in the face in a club in September—though that case was settled. On Oct. 8, local authorities also responded to a separate report that King had been involved in an altercation and that when he was placed in the back of a police car he kicked the door several times. The court said he admitted the charges and paid about $800. One of his lawyers told the news agency that King had spent time in U.S. military detention since the October case, but a U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) declined to confirm the information.
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