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N. Korea detains US tourist

June 6, 2014

North Korea has detained an US tourist, the third American being held in the country for hostile activities, reportedly for leaving a bible at a hotel. Washington has called for the release of all three of its citizens.

https://p.dw.com/p/1CE7e
he North Korean flag flies outside their embassy in Beijing on December 12, 2012. North Korea successfully launched a long-range rocket on December 12, in defiance of UN sanctions threats over what Pyongyang's critics have condemned as a disguised ballistic missile test. North Korea said the three-stage rocket, which Pyongyang insists was solely aimed at placing a satellite in orbit, had achieved all its objectives. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Image: AFP/Getty Images

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that a US citizen had been detained for questioning by authorities for violating visa regulations.

"US citizen in custody for committing anti-DPRK (North Korea) hostile activities", KCNA said in a headline that accompanied the story.

The agency said Jeffrey Edward Fowle had entered North Korea as a tourist on April 29 and had broken the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism during his stay."

"A relevant organ of the DPRK detained him and is investigating him," it added.

Citing diplomatic sources, Japanese news agency Kyodo said the detained man had been part of a tour group. It said he was held in mid-May after leaving a bible behind at a hotel where he had been staying. Fowe was reported to have been about to leave the country when he was arrested.

Seeking asylum from Pyongyang

The other two US citizens currently being detained in the North are Matthew Todd Miller, a 24-year-old tourist who had apparently ripped up his visa at immigration demanding asylum. Kenneth Bae, who North Korea described as an "evangelist," was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years hard labor on charges of seeking to topple the government.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not confirm the name of the third detainee on privacy grounds. However, Harf said the US special envoy on human rights in North Korea, Robert King, was ready to visit Pyongyang on a mission to secure the release of the detainees.

"We continue to actively seek the release of... all three," Harf said.

Pyongyang has so far not allowed King, his predecessor or UN human rights envoys to make visits to detainees, claiming that efforts to scrutinize its human rights record amount to political meddling.

While religious freedom is enshrined in the North Korean constitution, it does not exist in practice for the majority of North Koreans. Missionaries have been detained and subsequently released on numerous occasions.

rc/slk (AFP, AP, dpa)