ID :
104790
Fri, 02/05/2010 - 14:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/104790
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea says it will release detained U.S. missionary
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Friday it will release a U.S. missionary it is holding for illegally crossing into the communist nation, saying that the American offered "repentance of his wrongdoings."
Robert Park, a 28-year-old Christian missionary from Tucson, Arizona, entered the
North across the frozen Tumen river on the border with China in late December to
urge North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to free all political prisoners and improve
human rights.
"The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to leniently forgive and release him,
taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into
consideration," the Korean Central News Agency said. DPRK stands for the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
KCNA did not say when Park will be released.
The decision could help improve Pyongyang's relations with the United States amid
their nuclear standoff. Friday's announcement also came as a senior Chinese
official prepared to visit Pyongyang next week on an apparent mission to prod the
North to rejoin the nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia
and the U.S.
In a separate dispatch, the KCNA quoted Park as saying in an interview that he
had a "wrong understanding" of the North because of "the false propaganda made by
the West to tarnish its image."
"I would not have committed such crime if I had known that the DPRK respects the
rights of all the people and guarantees their freedom and they enjoy a happy and
stable life," Park, a Korean-American, was quoted as saying.
The KCNA made no mention of another American that it had said remains under
detention after illegally trespassing across the border between China and North
Korea.
In August last year, former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with North Korean
leader Kim to secure the release of two American journalists detained months
earlier for entering the North via China while reporting on North Korean
defectors.
The meeting created momentum for dialogue in the region after the North raised
tension by going ahead with its second nuclear test in May and launched a
long-range rocket despite international warnings.
In December, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy on North Korea visited
Pyongyang to call on the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its
nuclear weapons programs.
Pyongyang has said it is willing to rejoin the talks, but demands sanctions
imposed on its for its nuclear and missile testing first be lifted and
negotiations on formally ending the Korean War be started.
The nuclear talks, have not been held since December 2008.
(END)
Robert Park, a 28-year-old Christian missionary from Tucson, Arizona, entered the
North across the frozen Tumen river on the border with China in late December to
urge North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to free all political prisoners and improve
human rights.
"The relevant organ of the DPRK decided to leniently forgive and release him,
taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into
consideration," the Korean Central News Agency said. DPRK stands for the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
KCNA did not say when Park will be released.
The decision could help improve Pyongyang's relations with the United States amid
their nuclear standoff. Friday's announcement also came as a senior Chinese
official prepared to visit Pyongyang next week on an apparent mission to prod the
North to rejoin the nuclear talks involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia
and the U.S.
In a separate dispatch, the KCNA quoted Park as saying in an interview that he
had a "wrong understanding" of the North because of "the false propaganda made by
the West to tarnish its image."
"I would not have committed such crime if I had known that the DPRK respects the
rights of all the people and guarantees their freedom and they enjoy a happy and
stable life," Park, a Korean-American, was quoted as saying.
The KCNA made no mention of another American that it had said remains under
detention after illegally trespassing across the border between China and North
Korea.
In August last year, former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with North Korean
leader Kim to secure the release of two American journalists detained months
earlier for entering the North via China while reporting on North Korean
defectors.
The meeting created momentum for dialogue in the region after the North raised
tension by going ahead with its second nuclear test in May and launched a
long-range rocket despite international warnings.
In December, U.S. President Barack Obama's special envoy on North Korea visited
Pyongyang to call on the communist country to return to six-nation talks on its
nuclear weapons programs.
Pyongyang has said it is willing to rejoin the talks, but demands sanctions
imposed on its for its nuclear and missile testing first be lifted and
negotiations on formally ending the Korean War be started.
The nuclear talks, have not been held since December 2008.
(END)
