The Debate

North Korea Sentences American Citizen to 15 Years Hard Labor

Recent Features

The Debate

North Korea Sentences American Citizen to 15 Years Hard Labor

North Korea’s motives for sentencing Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor remain unclear.

After spending nearly six months in detention, Kenneth Bae, an American citizen of Korean ethnicity, has been sentenced to 15 years “compulsory labor” in North Korea for unspecified crimes against the country. According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Bae (referred to by Pae Jun Ho, the North Korean spelling of his name) allegedly confessed to the “hostile acts”.

“In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it,” the KCNA reported last weekend. “His crimes were proved by evidence.”

[...]
Dreaming of a career in the Asia-Pacific?
Try The Diplomat's jobs board.
Find your Asia-Pacific job