During previous arrest, US soldier who fled to North Korea shouted profanities about Koreans and its military

Tourist saw man ‘running what looked like full gas towards the North Korean side’

The US soldier who joined a civilian tour only to run across the DMZ into North Korea previously shouted profanities about Koreans and their military.

More information about Private 2nd Class Travis King, 23, is emerging after his escape into one of the most isolated countries in the world.

Mr King is in the custody of the North Koreans after running across the border and “willfully and without authorization” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.

The young soldier had recently been released from a South Korean jail and he had been taken by the military to the Incheon International Airport outside the capital of Seoul. He was set to possibly face further disciplinary action back in the US.

An administration official told NBC News that instead of heading to his gate, Mr King joined a civilian tour group going to the joint security area and the village of Panmunjom about 90 minutes from the airport.

It’s the only part of the DMZ stretching on for more than 155 miles where North and South Korea interact with each other.

New Zealand tourist Sarah Lelie was in the tour group that Mr King joined. She said that the tour group was “sort of milling around” at the end of the tour watched by both US and South Korean troops as North Korean soldiers seemed to be in a building.

Private 2nd Class Travis King (Screengrab/WISN)

It was at that point that she saw a man “running what looked like full gas towards the North Korean side,” she told the AP.

The South Korean and US troops ordered the rest of the group to go inside and set off after Mr King, but they were unable to catch him.

“Everybody was stunned and shocked,” Ms Leslie said. “There were some people who hadn’t even realized what was going on.”

Mr King was reported to the police in South Korea after reportedly punching a Korean national at a Seoul nightclub on 25 September 2022. He wasn’t indicted as the victim chose not to press charges.

In February of this year, he was fined almost $4,000 and charged with several violations, including damaging public property, court documents state.

He was accused of kicking a Seoul police vehicle last year, leading to hundreds of dollars in damage. As he was detained by officers, he shouted profanities about Koreans and the country’s military.

The ruling from a South Korean court states that Mr King pled guilty to assault and destruction of public goods in connection to the incident which occurred in October last year, according to Reuters.

He was detained on 8 October following an altercation. When police tried to question him, he behaved aggressively and didn’t reply to their queries. After he was placed in a patrol car, he shouted insults and expletives as he kicked the car door, with the ruling saying that he caused around 584,000 won in damage.

The court said that the defendant admitted to the allegations, that he didn’t have a criminal record, and that he paid 1 million won to repair the car.

Before fleeing the airport to join the tour group, Mr King had passed through security on his own.

The Korea Times reported that an airport official said that Mr King had said that his passport was missing as an excuse to not get on the flight.

One official told Reuters that DMZ tours are advertised at the airport and Mr King seemed to have joined one but it’s unclear how he managed to do so as they usually take three days to schedule because of security measures.