White House Urges North Korea to Release Kenneth Bae

Read White House Urges Release of American Missionary Serving 15 Years Hard Labor in North Korea, by Heather Clark, at Christian News Network.







"The White House is urging North Korean officials to release an American missionary that has been sentenced to 15 years hard labor in the country, along with a Korean War veteran who has been held since October.As previously reported, Kenneth Bae, who operates a tourist company in Washington state, was arrested not far from the city of Yanji last November, where some Christian groups provide aid to North Korean refugees. It is stated that Bae has made a number of trips to North Korea to assist orphaned children.

"While the exact reason for his charges of committing “hostile [and religious] acts to bring down the government” has not been made known, some organizations speculate that Bae may be in trouble for taking pictures that the government found threatening.

" “The most plausible scenario I can think of is that he took some pictures of the orphans, and the North Korean authorities considered that an act of anti-North Korean propaganda,” said Do Hee-youn of the Citizens’ Coalition for the Human Rights of North Korean Refugees."

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