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North Korea Detains American


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The only information Koryo Tours has about the allegedly detained US tourist Merrill Newman is that he did not travel through our company. In our 20 years of operation we have never once had any of our tourists detained or arrested. We have three tour groups in Pyongyang at the moment and we continue to operate all tours as usual.

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Korean War veteran Merrill Newman has made a public apology acknowledging his crimes.

 

The American citizen was arrested by North Korean authorities on the 26th shortly before leaving for Beijing on an Air Koryo flight after entering the country as a tourist.

 

North Korea’s Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA) stated on the 30th they had evidence to corroborate Newman’s “hostile acts.â€

 

According to the North, “(Newman) set out to find the gang of scouts, spies and terrorist elements that committed sabotage in the area of Mount Kuwol during the Fatherland Liberation War (Korean War),†with the intention of “strengthening connections with South Chosun’s anti-Republic conspiracy group, the ‘Mount Kuwol Guerilla Unit.’â€

 

Newman also revealed during his televised apology, “Shamelessly I had a plan to meet any surviving soldiers and pray for the souls of the dead soldiers in Kuwol Mt. (sic) during the Korean War. Following the itinerary I asked my guide to help me look for the surviving soldiers and their families and descendants because it was too hard for me to do myself.â€

 

Several North Korea experts have pointed out that the North may well have intended to pressure the United States through “hostage diplomacy,†but changed tack after fearing a backlash over Newman’s age and ill health.

 

One North Korea expert who requested anonymity believes that, “Recently North Korea has been attempting to improve its relationship with the United States through a variety of avenues. However, things are not progressing as they would like because they haven’t made any steps toward denuclearization. They may have anticipated that hostage diplomacy would put pressure on the U.S.â€

 

“The North knows that the losses could well outweigh the gains should they detain an elderly man for a long period of time. To avoid criticism from the international community they have taken steps toward his release,†the expert added.

 

Head of the Forum for the Democratization of North Korea Lee Dong Bok also commented, “If by chance North Korea did intend to apply pressure using Newman, the United States would never entertain such a strategy.â€

 

Another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, remains in the North after his arrest over a year ago for obtaining images of street children.

 

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