North Korea confirms arrest of US citizen for illegal entry
December 29th, 2009 - 2:32 pm ICT by IANSSeoul, Dec 29 (DPA) North Korea said Tuesday it had detained a US citizen who illegally crossed the border from China, confirming earlier reports that the activist entered the Stalinist state.
Activists have said that Robert Park, 28, crossed into North Korea Friday, carrying a letter for leader Kim Jong Il asking him to liberate concentration camps and raise awareness of Pyongyang’s human rights abuses.
“An American citizen illegally entered the country across the North Korea-China border and has been detained,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, without confirming the man’s name. He was being questioned by a “related authority”, KCNA added.
According to earlier media reports, Park, who leads a coalition of advocacy groups for North Korean defectors, said he would deliver a message to Kim Jong Il to step down, and that he wanted to be arrested to pressure the US, South Korean and Japanese governments to pay attention to the plight of North Korean people.
In March, North Korean border guards seized two Asian-American journalists from San Francisco-based Current TV near the Tumen River.
Pyongyang prosecuted Laura Ling and Euna Lee on charges of committing “hostile acts” against the regime. In a widely publicised visit, former US president Bill Clinton travelled to Pyongyang in August to secure the journalists’ release.
- South Koreans send anti-regime leaflets to North in balloons - Dec 22, 2011
- North Korea to try US journalists - May 14, 2009
- North Korea detains another US citizen - Apr 14, 2011
- Clinton leaves North Korea with two journalists (Second Lead) - Aug 05, 2009
- US informed of second citizen held by North Korea - Jan 30, 2010
- Bill Clinton lands in US with two freed journalists - Aug 05, 2009
- Kim Jong-un declared North Korea's supreme military commander - Dec 31, 2011
- Kim's death: US in touch with South Korea - Dec 19, 2011
- North Korea plans release of US missionary from detention - Feb 05, 2010
- North Korea replaces prime minister - Jun 07, 2010
- Dead North Korean leader's son 'great successor': Media - Dec 19, 2011
- Kim Jong-un elected chairman of National Defence Commission - Apr 13, 2012
- North Korea to punish 'non-mourners' - Jan 11, 2012
- North Korea's Kim Jong Un gets new party post - Apr 12, 2012
- South Korea's former first lady in Pyongyang for condolences - Dec 26, 2011
Tags: advocacy groups, american citizen, asian american journalists, central news agency, concentration camps, hostile acts, human rights abuses, japanese governments, kcna, kim jong il, korean central news, korean central news agency, korean people, north korean defectors, president bill clinton, stalinist state, state activists, tumen river, us president bill, us president bill clinton