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Another American Tourist Is Arrested in North Korea Another American Tourist Is Arrested in North Korea
(about 4 hours later)
BEIJING — An 85-year-old American veteran of the Korean War was detained in North Korea last month as he was about to depart after having visited the country on a tourist visa, according to a senior United States official and an account posted Wednesday on the website of The San Jose Mercury News. BEIJING — An 85-year-old American veteran of the Korean War was detained in North Korea last month as he was about to depart after having visited the country on a tourist visa, his son said on Wednesday.
The veteran, Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, Calif., was taken from the plane on which he was scheduled to leave North Korea on Oct. 26, the newspaper said on its website. The veteran, Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, Calif., was taken from an Air Koryo flight on which he was to leave the country on Oct. 26, his son, Jeff Newman, the chief financial officer of a real estate company, said in a telephone interview from California. 
“He was on a nine-day tour with a friend and two tour guides. He went through the normal visa process,” the younger Mr. Newman said. “Everything was going very well. They day before they were due to leave he had a meeting with his tour guide and without his companion.”
At that meeting, where at least one other North Korean aside from the tour guide was present, the Korean War was discussed, his son said. “That was the only hiccup,” he said. Mr. Newman’s traveling companion, Bob Hamrdla, who is not a Korean War veteran and lives in the same retirement village as Mr. Newman, assumed there must have been some misunderstanding from that meeting, Jeff Newman said.
 There has been no word of the whereabouts of Mr. Newman, who has a heart condition and a bad back, since he was escorted from the plane, his son said.
“All we would like is for whatever misunderstanding to be put aside and, on a humanitarian basis, he be able to leave the country and come home and be with his two grandchildren,” Mr. Newman said in the interview.
The detention of Mr. Newman, who was traveling with a tour group based in Beijing, came almost a year after the arrest of another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, who remains incarcerated in North Korea.The detention of Mr. Newman, who was traveling with a tour group based in Beijing, came almost a year after the arrest of another American citizen, Kenneth Bae, who remains incarcerated in North Korea.
A spokesman at the United States Embassy in Beijing, Nolan Barkhouse, said, “We are aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea, but we have no additional information to share at this time.”A spokesman at the United States Embassy in Beijing, Nolan Barkhouse, said, “We are aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea, but we have no additional information to share at this time.”
The United States official described the detention of Mr. Newman without identifying him by name. The official declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Mr. Newman’s detention has not been reported in the North Korean state-run news media.Mr. Newman’s detention has not been reported in the North Korean state-run news media.
In reaction to Mr. Newman’s detention, the State Department further tightened the United States travel warning to North Korea. The updated warning, released on Tuesday, begins with the statement that “the Department of State recommends against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea.” In reaction to Mr. Newman’s detention, the State Department further tightened the United States travel warning to North Korea, making it clear that travel to North Korea was highly dangerous for American citizens who were likely left vulnerable to arbitrary arrest.
It adds, “U.S. citizens crossing into North Korea, even accidentally, have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.” The updated warning, released on Tuesday, noted that “U.S. citizens crossing into North Korea, even accidentally, have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.”
Tours of North Korea that take American tourists to the capital, Pyongyang, and a few scenic places under strictly circumscribed conditions have become more frequent. Such tour groups provide a source of hard currency for the North Korean government, and can serve to give the impression that living standards in the capital are improving.Tours of North Korea that take American tourists to the capital, Pyongyang, and a few scenic places under strictly circumscribed conditions have become more frequent. Such tour groups provide a source of hard currency for the North Korean government, and can serve to give the impression that living standards in the capital are improving.
The new State Department advisory appears to strongly recommend against Americans joining such trips.  Mr. Newman was traveling with just his friend, and they were accompanied by two tour guides on a trip organized by a specialized tour company based in the United States, Jeff Newman said.
Mr. Newman was described in The Mercury News as a retired executive who had worked for California tech companies, including Convergent Technologies and Shugart Associates. “He was a curious guy who had done many different things,” Mr. Newman said of his father. Among the countries his father had visited since his retirement were South Korea and Cuba, and Mr. Newman prepared for the trip for several months, taking a Korean language course, his son said.
He served as an infantry officer during the Korean War, and later earned a master’s degree in education from Stanford University. He is a grandfather and lives at Channing House, a retirement community, with his wife, but has led an adventurous life traveling the world, including sailing trips around Central America, the newspaper said. Mr. Newman, a retired technology executive, served as an infantry officer during the Korean War, and later earned a master’s degree in education from Stanford. He lives at Channing House, a retirement community, with his wife, his son added.
A receptionist at Channing House said Mr. Newman’s wife was not taking calls. But Channing House issued a statement from a friend of Mr. Newman’s, Bob Hamrdla: “There has to be a terrible misunderstanding. I hope that the North Koreans will see this as a humanitarian matter and allow him to return to his family as soon as possible.”
Mr. Bae, 44, a Christian missionary, was arrested in the port of Rason in the northeast region of North Korea last November after leading a group of businessmen on a tour from the city of Yanji in northern China.Mr. Bae, 44, a Christian missionary, was arrested in the port of Rason in the northeast region of North Korea last November after leading a group of businessmen on a tour from the city of Yanji in northern China.
In May, he was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor for committing “hostile acts” against the North. The work at the prison camp was so severe that Mr. Bae became ill and was sent to a hospital. In May, he was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor for committing “hostile acts” against the North. The work at the prison camp was so severe that Mr. Bae became ill and was sent to a hospital.
Mr. Newman is the seventh American known to have been detained in the North since 2009. The others — with the exception of Mr. Bae and Mr. Newman, who were arrested during the tenure of the new leader, Kim Jong-un — were released or deported. In October, Mr. Bae’s mother, Myunghee Bae, was permitted to visit him at a hospital in Pyongyang. She left North Korea without him.
Twice recently, it appeared that Mr. Bae might be freed.
In August, a United States special envoy for North Korean human rights, Robert King, was scheduled to travel to Pyongyang to secure his release. But at the last minute, North Korea canceled the trip, which some Western analysts interpreted as evidence of power plays within the inner circle around Mr. Kim.
In October, Mr. Bae’s mother, Myunghee Bae, was permitted to visit him at a hospital in Pyongyang. She left North Korea without him.

Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.

Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.