American soldier detained by North Korea after crossing heavily armed border

A North Korean military guard post, rear, and South Korea post, bottom, are seen in Paju near the border with North Korea, South Korea (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

An American soldier facing military disciplinary action fled across the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea, US officials said, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years.

Two US officials said the soldier detained was Private 2nd Class Travis King, who had just been released from a South Korean prison where he had been held on assault charges and was facing additional military disciplinary actions in the United States.