U.S. Citizen Arrested in North Korea

A North Korean state news agency has reported the arrest of a United States citizen, this past Friday. The Korean Central News Agency reported that Bae Jun Ho entered the nation on November 3rd to carry out a tour, and that, upon being arrested, the man confessed to the still unspecified crime. A U.S. official has anonymously reported that a man named Kenneth Bae had been detained in North Korea for a month, though it is currently unknown if the two names refer to the same man. Bae is a tour operator, and, according to South Korean newspapers, entered North Korea’s port city of Rajin with five more tourists, meaning to undergo a five day tour of the country. A member of the tour had a computer hard disk that “apparently contained sensitive information.” It is currently unknown how efforts to free the man are progressing, and diplomacy between the United States and North Korea is almost nonexistent, especially in the country’s capital of Pyongyang. Any discussions must be made through the South Korean embassy in the area.

Source: Jake Depew, Assistant Editor