North says it has American who illegally made entry
Published: 29 Dec. 2009, 22:28
North Korea said yesterday it has detained an American citizen for “illegally” entering the country, making an apparent reference to a Christian missionary who slipped into the North to generate international attention to Pyongyang’s human rights violations.
In a short dispatch, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that “an American was detained after illegally entering the DPRK [North Korea] through the DPRK-China border on Dec. 24. He is now under investigation by a relevant organ.”
The agency offered no further details, but the person is believed to be Robert Park. Human rights activists in Seoul said the 28-year-old Park crossed the lightly-guarded area at the Tumen River on Christmas Day, not on the day before as the North media claimed. Park also reportedly carried a letter demanding Kim Jong-il’s resignation as the North Korean leader, release of all political prisoners and the opening of the North border so that food and medication aids can reach destitute citizens. North Korea imprisons foreigners who make unauthorized entry into the country. In March, two U.S. journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were detained after veering into the North Korean territory near China while reporting. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il to gain their release in August. Lee and Ling were initially sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp for their “hostile” act.
A South Korean activist who witnessed the occasion said that as Park crossed the border he shouted that he was an American citizen who had brought God’s love.
Hours before the North’s news report, the U.S. State Department told reporters in a briefing that it was “concerned” about Park’s fate.
“We are concerned by these reports [regarding Park’s trip]. We are looking into them,” said department spokesman Ian Kelly. “We don’t have any independent confirmation about either the report that he crossed over or about his whereabouts.”
Kelly said Washington was seeking “further information” through the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang. The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and the Swedish mission handles consular affairs involving Americans in the North. The embassy functioned as the contact point for Washington during the detention of Lee and Ling.
It remains to be seen what impact Park’s unauthorized entry may have on the U.S. efforts to bring the North back to the six-party nuclear negotiations.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
In a short dispatch, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that “an American was detained after illegally entering the DPRK [North Korea] through the DPRK-China border on Dec. 24. He is now under investigation by a relevant organ.”
The agency offered no further details, but the person is believed to be Robert Park. Human rights activists in Seoul said the 28-year-old Park crossed the lightly-guarded area at the Tumen River on Christmas Day, not on the day before as the North media claimed. Park also reportedly carried a letter demanding Kim Jong-il’s resignation as the North Korean leader, release of all political prisoners and the opening of the North border so that food and medication aids can reach destitute citizens. North Korea imprisons foreigners who make unauthorized entry into the country. In March, two U.S. journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, were detained after veering into the North Korean territory near China while reporting. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with Kim Jong-il to gain their release in August. Lee and Ling were initially sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp for their “hostile” act.
A South Korean activist who witnessed the occasion said that as Park crossed the border he shouted that he was an American citizen who had brought God’s love.
Hours before the North’s news report, the U.S. State Department told reporters in a briefing that it was “concerned” about Park’s fate.
“We are concerned by these reports [regarding Park’s trip]. We are looking into them,” said department spokesman Ian Kelly. “We don’t have any independent confirmation about either the report that he crossed over or about his whereabouts.”
Kelly said Washington was seeking “further information” through the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang. The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and the Swedish mission handles consular affairs involving Americans in the North. The embassy functioned as the contact point for Washington during the detention of Lee and Ling.
It remains to be seen what impact Park’s unauthorized entry may have on the U.S. efforts to bring the North back to the six-party nuclear negotiations.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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