North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's official news agency and foreign media reported on Friday.North Korea, which has been criticized for its human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
record, has in the past used detained Americans to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.
Kim Dong Chul, who has previously said he was a naturalized American citizen and was locked away
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
in North Korea in October, admitted to committing "unpardonable espionage" under the direction of the U.S. and South Korean governments and deeply apologized for his crimes, the North's KCNA news agency said.
"The extraordinary crime I committed was defaming and insulting the republic's highest dignity and its system and spreading false propaganda aimed at breaking down its solidarity," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
A source in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang told Rooters that diplomats were notified in the morning of the confession and Kim's comments were similar to the recent confession of another American being held there, Otto Warmbier.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the reported incident but could say no more. citing privacy concerns.