The U.S. soldier who fled into North Korea on Tuesday had loose ties to the 4th Infantry Division based in Colorado Springs.

Pvt. 2nd Class Travis King, a cavalry scout, traveled to South Korea with the 1st Brigade Combat Team within the 1st Armored Division based in Fort Bliss, Texas. He was then administratively attached to the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team within the 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, Army Spokesman Bryce Dubee said in a statement. The Fort Carson brigade arrived in South Korea this summer, according to an Army news release.

Before King fled across the heavily armored border, he had served nearly two months in a South Korean prison on assault changes and was released July 10.

He was held in a designated detention facility under the Status of Forces Agreement with South Korea, according to CNN, which is an agreement that defines how U.S. servicemembers, their family members and other Defense Department personnel are treated and processed in a foreign country, including its justice system.

He was to be sent home to Fort Bliss on Monday, where he could have faced additional military disciplinary actions and discharge from the service.

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According to officials, King, 23, was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. But instead of getting on the plane, he left the airport and later joined a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He bolted across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, on Tuesday afternoon local time in Korea. He is now the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.

The Army released his name and limited information after King’s family was notified of the incident. But a number of U.S. officials provided additional details on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. It wasn’t clear how he got to the border or how he spent the hours between leaving the airport Monday and crossing the border a day later.

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King joined the service in January 2021 and had received routine awards, such as the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Service Medal, and the Overseas Service Ribbon, Dubee’s statement said.

The American-led U.N. Command said he is believed to be in North Korean custody and the command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately report on the border crossing.

Gazette reporter Mary Shinn contributed to this report.