North Korea: US citizen given 10 years of hard labour for spying



SEOUL: -- North Korea sentenced a naturalised US citizen to 10 years of hard labour on Friday for spying and subversion.

China’s Xinhua news agency reported the verdict against Kim Dong Chul handed down by the Supreme Court in Pyongyang.

Arrested in October, the 62-year-old was put before cameras in the isolated state a month ago.

In a highly choreographed confession, he said he had stolen military secrets.

North Korean media said he admitted “unpardonable espionage” under the direction of the US and South Korean governments and deeply apologised for his crimes. It is not known what role coercion may have played in this confession.

Born in the South, Kim’s imprisonment follows a longer sentence given to another American by the North, as tensions on the Korean peninsula escalate.

Otto Warmbier, was given 15 years of hard labour in March for trying to steal a propaganda banner.

North Korea has detained Americans in the past to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.

Pyongyang has tightened security ahead of the first ruling party congress in 36 years which will begin on May 6.

It has also intensified its pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles since its fourth nuclear test in January.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-04-29

Why the hell anybody wants to travel to North Korea Concentration Camp?

Here we go again.

Question now is only, who is flying to Pyongyang this time.

Is it Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter or Madeleine Albright; they all winged in to kiss the arse of the then sitting North Korean Dear or Great leader. Meanwhile the leadership is in the third generation and hence it's time to fly out an American dignity to pay respect to the world's possibly last Stalinist state. What a loss of face!

If the US would pull out completely from South Korea the North Korean issue would have been solved ages ago. The Chinese don't want the US at their doorstep and as long as the South Koreans flirt with Sam's sons and daughters in uniform - as long will there be (Chinese) support to keep this dead horse North Korea alive.

In addition, let these spies face the music - no need to put highly visible de facto state visits onto the stage each and every time.

Maybe it will change once Trump moved into the White House and implements his highly proclaimed foreign policy. We'll see

Just create a prisoner exchange program.

Good on you...you're lucky they didn't kill you on the spot. American citizen?..doesn't look like no American citizen.

Good on you...you're lucky they didn't kill you on the spot. American citizen?..doesn't look like no American citizen.

North Korea sentenced a naturalised US citizen