(LEAD) American missionary arrives in Beijing after being freed by N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with details from para 3)
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- An American missionary arrived in Beijing on
Saturday, one day after North Korea said it would release him in a gesture that
appeared to be aimed at improving ties with the U.S.

Robert Park, 28, had been detained by in North Korea since he entered the
isolated country from China on Christmas Day to urge leader Kim Jong-il to step
down for human rights abuses.
Appearing exhausted, Park did not answer questions by reporters at a Beijing
airport. U.S. embassy officials said Park may leave for the United States later
in the day, but did not give flight details.
On Friday, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said the North would
release Park, citing his "sincere repentance of his wrongdoings."
Park, a Korean-American from Tuscon, Arizona, reportedly said prior to his
capture that he did not want to be freed until the North Korean leader released
all political prisoners, believed to number in the hundreds of thousands in
several concentration camps.
Last August, former U.S. president Bill Clinton met Kim in Pyongyang to secure
the release of two U.S. journalists also detained for entering the North
illegally.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

Delete & Prev | Delete & Next