Military vehicles are parked at Camp Humphreys, a sprawling U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, in this Aug. 21, 2022 photo. Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki

A U.S. soldier, held in Russia for alleged theft, did not request official clearance for his trip to Russia, an Army spokesperson said Tuesday, noting he is currently in a pretrial detention facility.

Cynthia Smith, the spokesperson, made the remarks as Staff Sgt. Gordon Black was arrested on charges of stealing personal property in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on Thursday.

Black was most recently assigned to the Eighth U.S. Army at Camp Humphreys in South Korea, Smith confirmed. On April 10, he was issued a permanent change-of-station (PCS) leave for reassignment to Fort Cavazos, Texas, but flew from Incheon, west of Seoul, to Vladivostok via China for personal reasons.

"Black did not request official clearance and DoD did not authorize his travel to China and Russia. Official and leave travel is currently restricted pursuant to the DoD Foreign Clearance Guide," Smith said in a statement. DoD means the Department of Defense.

"There is no evidence Black intended to remain in Russia after his PCS leave period ended," she added.

On Friday, a Russian foreign ministry official informed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow that Black was arrested. He will remain in detention until his next hearing pending determination, according to Smith.

The soldier's detention comes as relations between Washington and Moscow have been frayed due to Russia's war against Ukraine and other issues.

Black enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Infantryman in 2008. He deployed to Iraq from October 2009 through September 2010, and to Afghanistan from June 2013 until March 2014. (Yonhap)