By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
PYONGYANG, North Korea – The U.S. demanded North Korea to release a captive American citizen who was recently sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for the alleged crime of attempting to overthrow the central North Korean government.
Kenneth Bae (44), also known as Pae Jun-Ho, was born in South Korea, studied psychology for two years at the University of Oregon, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Mr. Bae has been detained by the North Korean government since he entered the north as a tourist last year.
He was arrested in November of last year after entering North Korean through the north eastern port city of Rason which is part of a special economic zone near the North Korean-Chinese border. There is speculation that Mr. Bae was acting as a tour operator when he was taken into custody by authorities.
South Korean activists speculate that Mr. Bae was detained by North Korean authorities because he had been taking photographs of starving children. Patrick Ventrell, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department expressed concerns regarding the due process aspects of North Korea’s legal system.
One of the gravest concerns is whether or not North Korea’s legal system is actually providing defendants with a fair trial due to the lack of transparency that surrounds their courts. Reports state that Mr. Bae had received legal counsel from Sweden since Sweden represented the U.S. in their absence in this ordeal due to a lack of diplomatic ties with North Korea.
Now that Mr. Bae has run the full gauntlet of the DPRK’s legal system, the U.S.is asking that Mr. Bae be granted amnesty for the alleged anti-government crimes that he has committed against the communist state. The U.S. demands that Mr. Bae be released immediately.
Mr. Bae’s April 30th sentence could not have come at a worse time since the U.S. and North Korea have been deadlocked in a diplomatic quagmire regarding Pyongyang’s third nuclear test. The U.S. doled out harsher sanctions on Pyongyang after its latest nuclear test in February which followed a December long range rocket test.
Pyongyang responded to the U.S. sanctions by threatening to launch a full scale military attack on U.S. military bases and also cut shaky ties with their democratic, southern brother. Pundits suggest that North Korea is holding Mr. Bae hostage as leverage in future negotiations.
Though Mr. Bae has been sentenced to 15 years in a hard labor camp, he will most likely be housed in a separate, less harsh facility, designed specifically for foreign detainees.
For further information, please see:
BBC – US urges N Korea to grant amnesty to Kenneth Bae – 2 May 2013
Reuters – U.S. seeks North Korean amnesty for American jailed for 15 years – 2 May 2013
The Telegraph – US demands ‘immediate release’ of American imprisoned in North Korea 2- May 2013
Al Jazeera – North Korea to put US citizen on trial – 27 April 2013
