American Citizen Is Said to Be Held in North Korea - Polidicks

[QUOTE]article: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/14/world/asia/us-citizen-is-said-to-be-held-in-north-korea.html?_r=0[/url] A 44-year-old American citizen has been held in North Korea for a month, a human rights activist in Seoul said Thursday, addressing unconfirmed reports that had circulated in the South Korean news media for several days. The assertion comes at a particularly delicate time for Washington, which is trying to rally support for a new round of penalties against North Korea over its launching of a long-range rocket this week. The American, Kenneth Bae, runs a travel company that specializes in taking tourists and prospective investors to North Korea. He had visited the North several times without incident before being detained in early November, according to the activist, Do Hee-youn, who heads the Citizens’ Coalition for the Human Rights of North Korean Refugees, based in Seoul. Mr. Do said he had learned of Mr. Bae’s detention through a mutual friend in China. The State Department has said little about the matter. “We’re obviously aware of these reports that a U.S. citizen has been detained in North Korea,” Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman for the department in Washington, said at a briefing on Tuesday after the reports began to appear. “We obviously have no higher priority than the welfare of our citizens.” Ms. Nuland declined to comment further, citing privacy considerations. South Korean news reports on Thursday said that Mr. Bae, a naturalized United States citizen born in South Korea, was detained after escorting five European tourists into North Korea through the city of Rajin on Nov. 3. The Europeans were allowed to leave the country, the reports said. North Korea operates a free-trade zone in Rajin, which is near the Russian border, but it has had difficulty attracting foreign investors. Mr. Do said he had few details about the circumstances surrounding Mr. Bae’s reported arrest. The South Korean daily newspaper Kookmin Ilbo cited an unnamed source as saying that Mr. Bae was detained after North Korean security officials found a computer hard disk in his possession that they believed contained delicate information about the country. Mr. Bae was later transferred to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, for further investigation, according to that report. Mr. Do said that Mr. Bae was interested in helping orphans who beg for food in North Korean markets. “The most plausible scenario I can think of is that he took some pictures of the orphans, and the North Korean authorities considered that an act of anti-North Korean propaganda,” he said. In recent years, several American citizens have made headlines when detained by North Korea. In 2010, the authorities there released Robert Park, a Korean-American Christian activist who entered the country in December 2009 to draw international attention to the North’s poor human rights record. In 2009, former President Bill Clinton flew to Pyongyang to win the release of two American journalists who had been arrested near the Chinese border while on a reporting trip covering North Korean refugees. The United States has no diplomatic presence in Pyongyang. It depends on the Swedish Embassy there to intervene on its behalf for issues involving American citizens in North Korea. On Wednesday, North Korea launched a long-range rocket that put a satellite into orbit, prompting the United States and its allies in Asia to try to marshal support for further sanctions against the North.[/QUOTE] Aww man. I really hope he comes back safe and sound... Reminds me of those two female reporters..

Bill Clinton is the man for the job

On one hand, I feel sorry, because North Korea is one place you definitely DON'T want to go to prison in. On the other hand, why would you go to North Korea in the first place? It's your job? Get a new job.

[QUOTE=J$ Psychotic;38820326]On one hand, I feel sorry, because North Korea is one place you definitely DON'T want to go to prison in. On the other hand, why would you go to North Korea in the first place? It's your job? Get a new job.[/QUOTE] Some people can't be too picky about their jobs.

[QUOTE=EliteGuy;38820314]Bill Clinton is the man for the job[/QUOTE] When is Bill Clinton [I]not[/I] the man for the job, he's fucking brilliant at everything he does! That man is my idol.

[QUOTE=EliteGuy;38820314]Bill Clinton is the man for the job[/QUOTE] We want to get the guy out, not fuck Kim's wife

What the fuck is North Korea doing. There's a new article about them every day.

[QUOTE=J$ Psychotic;38820326]On the other hand, why would you go to North Korea in the first place? It's your job? Get a new job.[/QUOTE] You can't just give up your whole korea because of it

[QUOTE=ZombieDawgs;38820989]We want to get the guy out, not fuck Kim's wife[/QUOTE] two birds with one stone

[QUOTE=UntouchedShadow;38821012]What the fuck is North Korea doing. There's a new article about them every day.[/QUOTE] Launching totally-not-ICBMs, putting people in prison.