Dictator ... A US man arrested by border guards in South Korea was reportedly attempting to swim to North Korea because wanted to meet Kim Jong-un. Picture: AFP/KCNA VIA KNS Source: AFP
South Korean border guards arrested an American man who they believe was attempting to swim across a river to rival North Korea, a South Korean defence official said.
The man was apprehended Tuesday night while lying on a bank of the Han River in a restricted military area near the border, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to office policy.
The man told investigators that he tried to go to North Korea to meet leader Kim Jong-un, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified government source.
The man, aged around 29, is a computer repairman from Texas who came to South Korea 10 days ago, the agency reported.
Arrest ... South Korean army soldiers stand guard at a military check point at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom. Picture: AP Source: AP
South Korea's Defence Ministry and the National Intelligence Service said they couldn't confirm the report.
Americans are occasionally arrested after entering North Korea illegally from China, but a US citizen trying to get in to the country from South Korea is unusual.
In the 1960s, several US soldiers walked into North Korea while on a patrol near the mine-strewn Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ.
Those army deserters later appeared in propaganda films and taught English in North Korea.
In 1996, American Evan C Hunziker entered North Korea by swimming across the Yalu River that marks the Chinese border.
Hunziker, who apparently made the swim on a drunken dare, was accused of spying and detained for three months.
Drunken dare ... In this Nov. 27, 1996 file photo, American Evan C. Hunzik, right, shakes hands with then-U.S. Rep. Bill Richardson after arriving in Japan after his release from North Korea. Picture: AP Source: AP
Hunziker, 26 at the time, was eventually freed after negotiations involving a special U.S. envoy.
The North Koreans wanted to slap Hunziker with a $100,000 criminal fine but eventually agreed on a $5000 payment to settle a bill for a hotel where he was detained. He killed himself about one month after his release.
About 27,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea to avoid poverty and political suppression since the end of the Korean War.
Some South Koreans have attempted to defect to the impoverished, authoritarian North, but such cases are rare.
Last year, South Korean soldiers shot and killed a man with a South Korean passport who officials said ignored warnings while swimming across the Imjin River toward North Korea.
Some Americans recently detained in North Korea include missionaries aiming to spread the gospel or draw attention to human rights abuses.
On Christmas Day in 2009, Korean-American missionary Robert Park defiantly walked into North Korea from China, calling for the dismantling of the North's prison camps.
Mr Park, who was deported from North Korea in February 2010, said he was tortured by interrogators.
North Korea is currently holding three Americans. The country's Supreme Court sentenced one of them, Matthew Miller, on Sunday to six years of hard labour after finding him guilty of illegally entering the country to commit espionage.
Rare case ... American Matthew Miller sits on the dock at the Supreme Court during his trial in Pyongyang on September 14. The court found Mr Miller guilty of espionage and sentenced Miller to six years of hard labour. Picture: AP Source: AP
North Korea says Mr Miller tore up his tourist visa upon arrival at Pyongyang's airport in April.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from North Korea.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
US man ‘tried to swim to N Korea’
Dengan url
http://gosipesbuk.blogspot.com/2014/09/us-man-atried-to-swim-to-n-koreaa.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
US man ‘tried to swim to N Korea’
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
US man ‘tried to swim to N Korea’
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar