Please pray as another American is now being detained by the North Korean government. News is just coming out that on October 26, a Korean War veteran, 85 year old Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, California was about to leave North Korea on a plane when 5 minutes before take off, a uniformed North Korean officer boarded the plane and asked to see his passport and asked the stewardess to have him leave the plane. “My dad got off, walked out with the stewardess, and that’s the last he was seen,” his son Jeffery Newman said.
The day before Newman was to leave North Korea, he and his tour guide met with “one or two Korean authorities”, Jeffery said. During that meeting, Newman’s service record was discussed. “I understand by dad was a bit bothered,” Newman said but he nor his traveling companion believed there was an issue. Jeffrey Newman said his father was a constant traveler and had wanted to visit North Korea and took lessons in the language before going on a nine day trip. “This has been a lifelong dream of his,” Jeffrey said. Merrill was traveling with a friend, Bob Hamrdla, who was allowed to leave. Hamrdla stated, “there has to be a terrible misunderstanding. I hope that the North Koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to return to his family as soon as possible.”
The U.S. State Department is working to resolve the matter with North Korea’s top ally, China. Ambassador Glyn Davies, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korean Policy met in Beijing on Thursday with his Chinese counterpart. While Mr. Davies wouldn’t confirm Newman’s detention, Davies said, “We certainly think that North Korea should think long and hard about this and understand that for the United States this is a matter of core concern for us.” Davies further stated, This “is an indication that North Korea seems not to be seeking a better relationship with the United States. They are not taking action to address our concerns.”
North Korea has not publicly acknowledged it has detained Mr. Newman but the family believes the elder Newman’s military service during the Korean War may be related to his detention, his son said. Because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, the family has been working through the State department and the Swedish Embassy to try to secure Newman’s freedom. The Swedish ambassador also delivered Newman’s heart medication to the North Korean Foreign Affairs Ministry, but it is not known if he had received it.
The detention comes a year after another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, a missionary and tour operator, who was arrested in November of 2012 and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor. The North Korean government has said he was found guilty of “hostile acts” along with attempts to topple the North Korean government.
The U.S. State Department warns in a formal notice that Americans should avoid travel to North Korea, in part because of the risk of arbitrary arrest or detention.
