Detained Americans in North Korea call on US to negotiate their freedom

World Today

w Miller, Jeffrey Fowle, Kenneth BaeIn this photo combo, from left to right, Mathew Miller, Jeffrey Fowle and Kenneth Bae, who are all Americans being detained in North Korea, speak to The Associated Press, Monday, Sept. 1, 2014 in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea gave foreign media access on Monday to the three detained Americans who said they have been able to contact their families and, watched by officials as they spoke, called for Washington to send a high-ranking representative to negotiate for their freedom. (Photo: AP/Wong Maye-E)

North Korea gave foreign media access on Monday to three detained Americans. The detainees said they were able to contact their families. Watched by officials as they spoke, they called for Washington to send a high-ranking representative to negotiate for their freedom.

Jeffrey Fowle and Mathew Miller said they expect to face trial within a month. However, they do not know what punishment they could face or what the specific charges against them are. Kenneth Bae is already serving a 15-year term. Bae said his health has deteriorated at the labor camp where he works eight hours a day.

The three were allowed to speak briefly with AP correspondents at a meeting center in Pyongyang. North Korean officials were present during the interviews, conducted separately and in different rooms. However, these officials did not censor the questions that were asked. The detainees said did not know they were going to be interviewed until immediately beforehand.

All three men said they believed the only solution to their situation was for a U.S. representative to come to North Korea to make a direct appeal. That has often been North Korea’s bargaining chip. In the past, senior statesmen such as former President Bill Clinton made trips to Pyongyang to secure the release of detainees.

Fowle and Miller said they have met with the Swedish ambassador and have been allowed to make phone calls to their relatives.

All three detainees appeared to speak freely but cautiously on Monday. Bae seemed healthy, but appeared to have significant back pain when he tried to sit down. Fowle appeared to be in good health. He smiled at times, but also said he was scared and desperate. Miller looked very anxious and spoke quietly. He was thin and pale, and was dressed all in black.

North Korea says Fowle and Miller committed hostile acts which violated their status as tourists. Authorities are preparing for the trial, but have not announced the date.

The U.S. Response

The U.S. has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for Bae and other U.S. detainees, but without success. Washington has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and no embassy in Pyongyang. Instead, the Swedish Embassy takes responsibility for U.S. consular affairs.

Though a small number of U.S. citizens visit North Korea each year as tourists, the State Department strongly advises against it. After Miller’s detention, Washington updated its travel warning to note that over the past 18 months, “North Korea detained several U.S. citizens who were part of organized tours.”

Jeffrey Fowle

Jeffrey Fowle

Jeffrey Fowle arrived in North Korea on April 29. He is suspected of leaving a Bible in a nightclub in the northern port city of Chongjin. Christian proselytizing is considered a crime in North Korea. Fowle, 56, lives in Miamisburg, Ohio, where he works in a city streets department. He has a wife and three children aged 9, 10, and 12.

“Within a month I could be sharing a jail cell with Ken Bae.  “I’m desperate to get back to them.”  Fowle added that he hadn’t spoken with his family for three weeks.

Mathew Miller

Mathew Miller

North Korea says Mathew Miller, 24, entered the country on April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up at the airport and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum. Miller refused to comment on whether he was seeking asylum.

Kenneth Bae

Kenneth Bae

Kenneth Bae, a 46-year-old Korean-American missionary, has been held since November 2012. He was moved from a work camp to a hospital because of failing health and weight loss. Last month, he was sent back to the work camp outside of Pyongyang, doing farm-related labor.

He said he has lost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and has severe back pain, along with a sleep disorder. His family has said his health problems include diabetes, an enlarged heart, liver problems and back pain.

“The only hope that I have is to have someone from the U.S. come,” he said. “But so far, the latest I’ve heard is that there has been no response yet. So I believe that officials here are waiting for that.”

Bae said he did not realize before the trial that he was violating North Korean law, but refused to go into details.

He said the lead up to his trial lasted about four months, but the trial itself only took about an hour. Bae elected not to have a defense attorney because “at that point there was no sense of me to get a lawyer because the only chance I had was to ask for mercy.”

North Korean Tourism

North Korea has been strongly pushing tourism lately in an effort to bring in foreign cash. One tourism project in particular, ‘Enter Pyongyang’ went live online in August. It was co-produced by the leading North Korea travel specialist, Koryo Tours. The time lapse video of the North Korean capital went viral.

Enter Pyongyang from JT Singh on Vimeo.

Despite its efforts, North Korea remains highly sensitive to any actions it considers political and is particularly wary of anything it deems to be Christian proselytizing. In March, North Korea deported an Australian missionary detained for spreading Christianity after he apologized and requested forgiveness.

This story was compiled with information from the Associated Press.