ID :
185009
Sat, 05/28/2011 - 10:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185009
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea releases American citizen held for six months
(2nd LD)BEIJING, May 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea released an American citizen under detention for the past six months for an unspecified crime, U.S. envoy Robert King said Saturday, wrapping up his five-day visit to Pyongyang to assess the North's food situation.
The release of the Korean-American Jun Young-su, who was arrested in November and has since been under investigation for committing a "crime" against the North, came a day after Pyongyang said it decided to free him on "humanitarian grounds."
King, the U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights, and Jun arrived at an airport in Beijing around 10:00 a.m. aboard a flight of Air Koryo, the North's state airline, but Jun didn't show up at the arrival gate with King.
Upon arrival in Beijing, King told reporters that, "We are very happy to report that Mr. Jun, the American citizen being held in Pyongyang, has been released. We are also delighted that in a day or two he will be back with his wife and family."
The U.S. embassy in Beijing declined to give details on Jun, the fifth American to be held by the communist regime in the past three years.
The U.S. government had repeatedly called on the North to free Jun, who informed sources have claimed was accused of getting involved in unauthorized religious activities.
Earlier in the day, the North's KCNA news agency said in a brief report that King and his team left Pyongyang by air after discussing "humanitarian issues" during the visit, but made no mention of Jun.
King visited North Korea this week to assess the North's food situation, a possible indication of the resumption of U.S. food aid to the North.
The envoy told reporters that there was no agreement on food aid by the U.S. during the visit.
Washington suspended its food aid to the North in March 2009 amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, and controversy over the transparency of food distribution.
In March, the U.N. food agency appealed for 430,000 tons of food aid to feed 6 million vulnerable North Korean people, a quarter of the country's population.
The release of the Korean-American Jun Young-su, who was arrested in November and has since been under investigation for committing a "crime" against the North, came a day after Pyongyang said it decided to free him on "humanitarian grounds."
King, the U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights, and Jun arrived at an airport in Beijing around 10:00 a.m. aboard a flight of Air Koryo, the North's state airline, but Jun didn't show up at the arrival gate with King.
Upon arrival in Beijing, King told reporters that, "We are very happy to report that Mr. Jun, the American citizen being held in Pyongyang, has been released. We are also delighted that in a day or two he will be back with his wife and family."
The U.S. embassy in Beijing declined to give details on Jun, the fifth American to be held by the communist regime in the past three years.
The U.S. government had repeatedly called on the North to free Jun, who informed sources have claimed was accused of getting involved in unauthorized religious activities.
Earlier in the day, the North's KCNA news agency said in a brief report that King and his team left Pyongyang by air after discussing "humanitarian issues" during the visit, but made no mention of Jun.
King visited North Korea this week to assess the North's food situation, a possible indication of the resumption of U.S. food aid to the North.
The envoy told reporters that there was no agreement on food aid by the U.S. during the visit.
Washington suspended its food aid to the North in March 2009 amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, and controversy over the transparency of food distribution.
In March, the U.N. food agency appealed for 430,000 tons of food aid to feed 6 million vulnerable North Korean people, a quarter of the country's population.
