A videotaped “press conference” experts believe was almost certainly given under duress, American missionary Kenneth Bae confesses to crimes against North Korea and appeals to the United States to help free him.
Bae said the address was given at his own request though it is not unusual for prisoners in North Korea to say after their release that they spoke in similar situations under duress. Speaking under the watchful eye of North Korean guards, the 45-year-old said he has been treated well and that Pyongyang has provided him “humanitarian support,” according to China’s state-run news service Xinhua which maintains a presence in Pyongyang.
Dressed in a gray inmate uniform labeled No. 103 on the chest, along with a matching gray cap, Bae spoke in Korean during the brief appearance. “I believe that my problem can be solved by close cooperation and agreement between the American government and the government of this country,” Bae said. He added, that he has not been treated badly in confinement.
Bae said a comment last month by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had made his situation more difficult. “The vice president of United States said that I was detained here without any reason,” Bae said. “And even my younger sister recently told the press that I had not committed any crime and I know that the media reported it. “I think these comments infuriated the people here enormously. And for this reason, I am in a difficult situation now. As a result, although I was in medical treatment in the hospital for five months until now, it seems I should return to prison. And moreover there is greater difficulty in discussions about my amnesty.”
While traveling as a tour guide, Bae was arrested in November 2012 and was accused by the North Korean government of crimes against the state and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Bae’s family and the U.S. State Department have repeatedly called for his release on humanitarian grounds while citing his failing health.
“We shouldn’t take Kenneth Bae’s comments merely as his own,” Kim Jin Moo, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul, told The Associated Press. “The reason why North Korea had Kenneth Bae make this statement … is that they want Washington to reach out to them.” Kim continued, “Bae’s comments are an appeal to Washington to actively persuade Pyongyang to release him.”
North Korea has detained at least seven Americans since 2009 including Merrill Newman who was just released last month. The 85-year-old veteran of the Korean War who had traveled to the country with a tour group and was arrested for alleged crimes during the 1950-53 war. Newman was released following a videotaped confession in which he apologized for his wrongdoing. Newman stated following his release that the confession was given involuntarily and under duress but that he was actually treated generally well during his confinement.
Bae was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States in 1985 with his parents and sister. Before his arrest, Bae lived in China for seven years with his wife and stepdaughter and ran a tour business that had led 18 trips into North Korea.
Bae’s captivity was also at the center of controversy surrounding basketball star Dennis Rodman’s recent visits to North Korea over the last year. Rodman has subsequently apologized for his behavior and comments and has checked himself in for alcohol rehab just last week.
So far, there have been no official statements from the State Department.
We ask for prayers from all for Kenneth and his family in hopes that this current activity may indicate the possibility of his release, much as occurred in the Newman case last month.
You can read my most recent post on the Dennis Rodman’s visit to North Korea here:
https://fggam.org/as-the-worm-turns-dennis-rodmans-team-seems-a-little-hesitant/
You can also read Pastor Dewey’s original post concerning Kenneth Bae here:
https://fggam.org/let-us-be-in-constant-prayer-kenneth-bea-begins-15-year-prison-sentence-in-north-korea/
