January 20, 2014: American missionary Kenneth Bae speaks to reporters at Pyongyang Friendship Hospital in Pyongyang, North Korea. Bae, 45, who has been jailed in North Korea for more than a year, appealed for the U.S. to do its best to secure his release. (AP Photo/Kim Kwang Hyon)
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.
Appearing in a grey cap and prison suit and 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 cap and inmate's uniform with the number 103 on his chest, 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,' said 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.
Bae's capitivity was that 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 earlier this 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.
bberitaa.blogspot.com contributed to this report.
Posted by Unknown on Monday, January 20, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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