In a videotaped "press conference" experts believe was almost
certainly given under duress, American missionary Kenneth Bae confessed
to committing crimes against North Korea and appealed to the U.S. to
help free him.
Speaking under guard, the 45-year-old said he has been treated well
and that Pyongyang has provided him "humanitarian support," according to
China's state-run news agency Xinhua, which has a presence in
Pyongyang.
Bae said the address was given at his own request, though it is not
unusual for prisoners in North Korea to say after their release that
they spoke in similar situations under duress.
Wearing a gray inmate uniform with No. 103 on his chest, as well as a gray cap, Bae spoke in Korean during the brief appearance.
"I believe that my problem can be solved by close cooperation and
agreement between the American government and the government of this
country," Bae said, adding that he has not been treated badly in
confinement.
Bae was arrested in November 2012 while leading a tour group. He was
accused by the North Korean government of crimes against the state and
was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Bae's family and the U.S. State
Department have repeatedly called for his release on humanitarian
grounds, citing his failing health.
"We shouldn't take Kenneth Bae's comments merely as his own," Kim Jin
Moo, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses in Seoul, told The Associated Press. "The reason why North
Korea had Kenneth Bae make this statement ... is that they want
Washington to reach out to them."
"Bae's comments are an appeal to Washington to actively persuade Pyongyang to release him," Kim said.
Last month, North Korea freed American Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old
veteran of the Korean War who had traveled to the country with a tour
group and was arrested for alleged crimes during the 1950-53 war. North
Korean state media claimed Newman was freed because he apologized in a
videotaped confession for his wrongdoing and that authorities also
considered his age and medical conditions. Newman said after his release
that the confession was given involuntarily and under duress, although
he was generally treated well.
North Korea has detained at least seven Americans since 2009. They
include two reporters for Current TV who crossed into North Korea while
working on a story and were later freed after former President Bill
Clinton traveled there to meet with Kim Jong Il, the former leader whose
son, Kim Jong Un, now rules the communist dictatorship.
Bae's captivity was at the center of the controversy surrounding
basketball star Dennis Rodman's visit to North Korea earlier this year.
In an interview with CNN, Rodman -- who had been criticized for not
doing more to secure Bae's release -- made comments implying that Bae
was at fault. Rodman later apologized for his remarks and checked into
alcohol rehab last week.
Bae was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States in
1985 with his parents and sister. He was allowed to call home on Dec. 29
because of the holidays, according to his sister, Terri Chung. That was
the first time his three children from an earlier marriage had spoken
to him, she said. He has two children in Arizona and another in Hawaii,
ages 17, 22 and 23, Chung said.
Before his arrest, Bae lived in China for seven years with his wife
and stepdaughter. He ran a tour business and led 18 trips to North
Korea, Chung said.
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