US soldier got in fights, damaged police car before dash to North Korea - court docs

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool

SEOUL (Reuters) -Months before he fled into North Korea, U.S. soldier Travis King faced two assault allegations and was fined by a South Korean court for damaging a police car, according to a court ruling and a lawyer who represented him.

The U.S. military was scrambling to establish the fate of King, who made an unauthorised crossing of the inter-Korean border into North Korea on Tuesday, throwing Washington into a new crisis in its dealing with the nuclear-armed state.