An unarmed U.S. soldier awaiting trial has deserted an American Army base in a city near the border with North Korea, police said Wednesday.

The whereabouts of a 27-year-old serviceman, whose identity is withheld, has been unknown since Saturday when he is presumed to have run away, according to the police.

It said the U.S. Army is currently trying to locate him.

Police said he belongs to the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division at Camp Casey, which is located in Dongducheon, some 40 kilometers north of Seoul.

The U.S. soldier was supposed to face a military trial on Wednesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography, they said.

About 28,500 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)