Mother of jailed American Kenneth Bae meets ailing son in Pyongyang

[webfact]

Mother of jailed American Kenneth Bae meets ailing son in Pyongyang
Kenneth Bae - who was jailed for 'hostile acts' - reports that his health is 'still not good'
Agencies in Seoul

SEOUL: -- North Korea has allowed the mother of Kenneth Bae to visit her ailing son almost a year after the American tour operator and missionary was detained and sentenced to 15 years hard labour for "hostile acts".

Myunghee Bae saw her son at a hospital in Pyongyang where he's being treated for various ailments. She said he had told her his health was improving but was "still not good".

"I came because I am worried that my son's health has worsened," she said when she arrived at the airport. "I really wanted to see my son." It is believed she will get to see him again during her five-day visit.

Bae said her trip had been approved by Washington.

In a video posted to the family's website before she left her home in the US city of Seattle, Myunghee Bae said her heart was "broken into pieces" when she saw a prison interview with her son from July. "He looked so different and he lost so much weight," she said. "I could not believe that prisoner was my son."

Bae was arrested while on a tour in a northeastern North Korean city last November and sentenced after a trial on April 30, further straining relations between the US and the government of Kim Jong-un.

North Korea has periodically detained Americans, sometimes seeking to barter their release for concessions from the US. [read more...]

Full story: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1329728/mother-jailed-american-kenneth-bae-meets-ailing-son-pyongyang

-- South China Morning Post 2013-10-12

[Dr Robert]

monsterous injustice that a man can be used as a pawn and bargaining chip in a political game he is no part of. my heartfelt cry of anguish to his mother...

[oldsailor35]

Trouble with so many American missionaries is that they cannot resist going to non Christian countries and trying to persuade locals into changing to the missionary's religion. I have seen it so many times.

[bankei]

I support the locking up of Christian missionaries, but this is just going a bit too far.

Bankei

[SOTIRIOS]

In 2005, Bae moved to China with his wife and three children. He created a tourism company called "Nations Tour" for North Korean special economic zone visits that were secretly Christian missionary trips.^[4][5][6] On November 3, 2012,^[7] Bae was traveling with five European tourists in Rajin-guyŏk,Rason, North Korea when officials discovered that he was carrying a computer hard disk that contained pictures of starving North Korean orphans.^[8]He was prosecuted by North Korea for several reasons:^{[9][10][11][12]}

• Planning an anti-North Korean religious coup d'état called "the Jericho operation".
  
• Admitting to setting up bases in China for the purpose of toppling the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
  
• Encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government.
  
• Conducting a "malignant" smear campaign.
  

[squarethecircle]

Trouble with so many American missionaries is that they cannot resist going to non Christian countries and trying to persuade locals into changing to the missionary's religion. I have seen it so many times.

Like the South Korean missionaries who went to Afghanistan a few years back, they were kidnapped and the leader was beheaded.

[slipperylobster]

Religion is surely not the silver bullet. Evil is still best defeated by wooden stakes and mallets.

[simple1]

Trouble with so many American missionaries is that they cannot resist going to non Christian countries and trying to persuade locals into changing to the missionary's religion. I have seen it so many times.

Like the South Korean missionaries who went to Afghanistan a few years back, they were kidnapped and the leader was beheaded.

They were warned and requested by the South Korean government not to go to Afghanistan. They wrote their wills before they departed & sadly two were murdered by the Taliban. To save the remaining hostages the Afghan government had to release from prison some Taliban commanders.

Don't know if it applied to the group in Afghanistan, but a South Korean Embassy official in a Middle East country said he was worried over the extreme missionary zeal of some of these Koreans Christians who see dying as a martyr as "a glorious thing".

[SjaakNL2013]

I assume that he have brains and did know what he was doing. And yes you know that jails in North Korea are not 5 stars hotels. He is lucky that he get some medical attention. Most North Koreans have a lack of that. In or out jail.

An old saying .... dont touch the kettle if the water is boiling.

[Ulic]

Missionaries always seem to get themselves into these tough spots.

[Credo]

Some of them seem to truly believe that God will protect them, apparently.

When he doesn't, then it's their cross to bear, I guess.

[indyuk]

In 2005, Bae moved to China with his wife and three children. He created a tourism company called "Nations Tour" for North Korean special economic zone visits that were secretly Christian missionary trips.^{%5B4%5D%5B5%5D%5B6%5D} On November 3, 2012,^%5B7%5D Bae was traveling with five European tourists in Rajin-guyŏk,Rason, North Korea when officials discovered that he was carrying a computer hard disk that contained pictures of starving North Korean orphans.^%5B8%5DHe was prosecuted by North Korea for several reasons:^{%5B9%5D%5B10%5D%5B11%5D%5B12%5D}

• Planning an anti-North Korean religious coup d'état called "the Jericho operation".
• Admitting to setting up bases in China for the purpose of toppling the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
• Encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government.
• Conducting a "malignant" smear campaign.

Then he is very lucky that he didn't have to face a firing squad. Good to hear the the North Korean Government have a smidgen of compassion.

Although I am a christian I do not agree with foreign missionaries disturbing communities in the name of God in countries where they already have there own way of religeon.In Thailand we have Mormon and Jehover missionaries and both are a nuisance.

[FM505]

I support the locking up of Christian missionaries, but this is just going a bit too far.

Bankei

So what is far enough to satisfy you...? Its a lock up. You should be ecstatic...

[bankei]

I support the locking up of Christian missionaries, but this is just going a bit too far.

Bankei

So what is far enough to satisfy you...? Its a lock up. You should be ecstatic...

A short lockup, possibly 6 months, including brainwashing sessions, and the deportation back to America!