|
North Korea detains American for crossing border
[Dawn] North Korea said Thursday it has detained an American for illegally entering its territory, in what would be the second such case in a month if confirmed, reports AFP.The North's official news agency said the man was held Monday after crossing from China but did not identify him or give any details. "An American was detained for trespassing on the border of the DPRK (North Korea) with China on January 25," the agency said in a one-sentence report. "He is now under investigation by an organ concerned." In Washington, a US State Department spokesman said he had no knowledge of the case. It was unclear if the reported detention had any connection with US missionary Robert Park, who was held on December 25. Jo Sung-Rae, a South Korean Christian involved in Park's case, told AFP: "Right now we have no information about the reported entry of another American." Park crossed a frozen border river from China on Christmas Day to make a protest against repression in the hardline communist North. Washington has been seeking access to him through the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which represents its interests. Park, 28, claimed he had seen a vision from God of North Korea's liberation and redemption, according to his colleagues. They said he had crossed the border shouting, "I came here to proclaim God's love". The North last month confirmed it is investigating a US citizen -- sumed to be Park -- for illegal entry but given no further details. The missionary carried a letter calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to release political prisoners, shut concentration camps and improve rights and conditions, according to his colleagues. The North, which depicts the United States as its arch-enemy, has detained a few Americans in recent decades. They were eventually freed, in most cases after high-level mediation. TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years in a labour camp after crossing the border and reportedly filming inside the North. Kim pardoned them last August after a visit to Pyongyang by former president Bill Clinton. After months of sabre-rattling marked by a nuclear test and missile launches, the North used Clinton's visit to extend peace feelers. US envoy Stephen Bosworth visited Pyongyang last month to try to persuade it to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament negotiations. The North is demanding that sanctions be lifted before it comes back to the talks. It also calls for early discussions with Washington on a pact to formally end the 1950-1953 war. The US and South Korea say the North must first return to the nuclear talks and demonstrate a commitment to scrapping its atomic programmes. Posted by: Fred 2010-01-29 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=289130 |