ID :
104629
Thu, 02/04/2010 - 17:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/104629
The shortlink copeid
North Korea Says American Held After Crossing Border
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea said on Jan. 28 it has detained an American man for illegally crossing its border with China in the second such incident in a month if confirmed.
The report by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the man
entered the North on Jan. 25 and "is now under investigation by an organ
concerned," but it did not identify him or his motive.
"An American was detained for trespassing on the border" between China and North
Korea on Jan. 25, the two-paragraph English-language report said.
The United States Embassy in Seoul said it had no immediate knowledge of the
report. If confirmed, the incident would mark the second crossing by a U.S.
citizen into the socialist state after a Korean-American missionary named Robert
Park entered it last month, calling for human rights in the North.
Park, 28, remains under detention after walking into the North across the frozen
Tumen River on Christmas Day, professing his intention to propagate "God's love."
The U.S. has reportedly been trying to contact him through a foreign embassy in
Pyongyang.
It remains unclear whether the latest crossing reported by the North is linked to
the previous one, which was first publicized by fellow missionaries and later
confirmed by Pyongyang.
In March, two American journalists crossed into North Korea from China while
working on a story about human trafficking. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were
sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for charges including illegal entry, but were
freed as part of a diplomatic mission spearheaded by former U.S. President Bill
Clinton in August.
The reported crossing by an American comes amid heightened tension on the divided
Korean Peninsula after the North has fired artillery shells toward its western
sea border with South Korea.
In a conflicting gesture, the North proposed to the U.S.-led United Nations
command in South Korea on Jan. 27 that the sides resume the joint recovery of the
remains of their troops who died in the Korean War.
The report by the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the man
entered the North on Jan. 25 and "is now under investigation by an organ
concerned," but it did not identify him or his motive.
"An American was detained for trespassing on the border" between China and North
Korea on Jan. 25, the two-paragraph English-language report said.
The United States Embassy in Seoul said it had no immediate knowledge of the
report. If confirmed, the incident would mark the second crossing by a U.S.
citizen into the socialist state after a Korean-American missionary named Robert
Park entered it last month, calling for human rights in the North.
Park, 28, remains under detention after walking into the North across the frozen
Tumen River on Christmas Day, professing his intention to propagate "God's love."
The U.S. has reportedly been trying to contact him through a foreign embassy in
Pyongyang.
It remains unclear whether the latest crossing reported by the North is linked to
the previous one, which was first publicized by fellow missionaries and later
confirmed by Pyongyang.
In March, two American journalists crossed into North Korea from China while
working on a story about human trafficking. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were
sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for charges including illegal entry, but were
freed as part of a diplomatic mission spearheaded by former U.S. President Bill
Clinton in August.
The reported crossing by an American comes amid heightened tension on the divided
Korean Peninsula after the North has fired artillery shells toward its western
sea border with South Korea.
In a conflicting gesture, the North proposed to the U.S.-led United Nations
command in South Korea on Jan. 27 that the sides resume the joint recovery of the
remains of their troops who died in the Korean War.
