North Korea gave foreign media access on Monday to three detained
Americans who said they have been able to contact their families and
called for Washington to send a high-ranking representative to
negotiate for their freedom.
Jeffrey Fowle and Mathew Miller said they expect to face trial within
a month. But they said they do not know what punishment they could
face or what the specific charges against them are.
Kenneth Bae, who already is serving a 15-year term, said his health
has deteriorated at the labor camp where he works eight hours a day.
The three were allowed to speak briefly with The Associated Press at a
meeting center in Pyongyang. North Korean officials were present
during the interviews, conducted separately and in different rooms,
but did not censor the questions that were asked. The three said they
did not know they were going to be interviewed until immediately
beforehand.
All said they believe the only solution to their situation is for a
U.S. representative to come to North Korea to make a direct appeal.
That has often been North Korea's bargaining chip in the past, when
senior statesmen including former President Bill Clinton made trips to
Pyongyang to secure the release of detainees.
North Korea says Fowle and Miller committed hostile acts which
violated their status as tourists. It has announced that authorities
are preparing for the trial, but has not announced the date.
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman Patrick Ventrell
said, "We have seen the reports of interviews with the three American
citizens detained in North Korea."
"Securing the release of U.S. citizens is a top priority and we have
followed these cases closely in the White House," his statement added.
"We continue to do all we can to secure their earliest possible
release." Ventrell noted that the State Department has issued a travel
warning recommending against all travel to North Korea for U.S.
citizens.
Fowle arrived in North Korea on April 29. He is suspected of leaving a
Bible in a nightclub in the northern port city of Chongjin. Christian
proselytizing is considered a crime in North Korea. Fowle, 56, lives
in Miamisburg, Ohio, where he works in a city streets department. He
has a wife and three children aged 9, 10, and 12.
"Within a month I could be sharing a jail cell with Ken Bae," he said,
adding that he hasn't spoken with his family for three weeks. "I'm
desperate to get back to them."
North Korea says Miller, 24, entered the country on April 10 with a
tourist visa, but tore it up at the airport and shouted that he wanted
to seek asylum. Miller refused to comment on whether he was seeking
asylum.
Bae, a 46-year-old Korean-American missionary, has been held since
November 2012. He was moved from a work camp to a hospital because of
failing health and weight loss but last month was sent back to the
work camp outside of Pyongyang, where he said he does farm-related
labor.He said he has lost 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and has severe
back pain, along with a sleep disorder. His family has said his health
problems include diabetes, an enlarged heart, liver problems and back
pain.
"The only hope that I have is to have someone from the U.S. come," he
said. "But so far, the latest I've heard is that there has been no
response yet. So I believe that officials here are waiting for that."
Bae said he did not realize before the trial that he was violating
North Korean law, but refused to go into details.
He said the lead up to his trial lasted about four months, but the
trial itself only took about an hour. He said he elected not to have a
defense attorney because "at that point there was no sense of me to
get a lawyer because the only chance I had was to ask for mercy." "It
was very quick," he said.
Bae's sister Terri Chung said in a statement released Monday, that she
is worried about Bae's health and wellbeing and she appealed to North
Korean officials to show mercy and release her brother.
The U.S. has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean
human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for
Bae and other U.S. detainees, but without success. Washington has no
diplomatic ties with North Korea and no embassy in Pyongyang. Instead,
the Swedish Embassy takes responsibility for U.S. consular affairs.
Fowle and Miller said they have met with the Swedish ambassador and
have been allowed to make phone calls to their relatives.
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