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North Korea Displays Another Captured Missionary North Korea Is Said to Launch Missiles Into Sea
(about 17 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean Baptist missionary held in North Korea appeared in a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang on Thursday, saying that he had plotted to build underground churches in the isolated country to help undermine its government. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched four short-range missiles off its eastern coast on Thursday in what appeared to be a show of force while South Korea and the United States were conducting their annual joint military exercises, officials here said.
The missionary, Kim Jong-uk, 50, called himself a “criminal” and apologized for the “anti-state crime” he said he had committed against the North while working at the behest of the South’s National Intelligence Service. The missiles blasted off from a base in the Gitdaeryeong area around 5:40 p.m. Thursday and flew more than 120 miles to the northeast before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, said a spokesman for the Defense Ministry in Seoul.
North Korea announced in November that it had arrested a South Korean spy, but until Thursday it had rejected the South Korean government’s request to identify him. It was unclear whether Mr. Kim was speaking his own mind during the government-arranged news conference, to which The Associated Press and other foreign journalists in Pyongyang were invited. “We remain vigilant for the possibility of more provocations from the North,” the spokesman said. He spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy.
The North Korean government has used such news conferences in Pyongyang or interviews with the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, to let Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary held in the North since late 2012, speak to the outside world. Mr. Bae has also said that he apologized for his anti-North Korean “crime,” for which he was sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor last year, and appealed for Washington’s intervention to win his release. Also Thursday, a South Korean Baptist missionary held in North Korea appeared at a government-arranged news conference in Pyongyang, the capital, saying he had plotted to build underground churches in the isolated country to undermine its government.
Analysts have said that the North was using the news conferences to draw interest to the predicament of the detainees and force Washington to engage the North in dialogue. The missionary, Kim Jong-uk, 50, called himself a criminal and apologized for the “antistate crime” he said he had committed against the North while working at the behest of the South’s National Intelligence Service.
Mr. Kim told the news conference on Thursday that he entered the North with Bibles and other religious materials and movies on Oct. 7 and was arrested the following day. Before that, he said he was running an underground church in the Chinese city of Dandong, just over the North Korean border, to collect data from North Korean refugees that he would hand over to the South Korean intelligence agency. He received several thousand dollars from the agency, he said. North Korea announced in November that it had arrested a South Korean spy, but until Thursday it had rejected the South Korean government’s request to identify him. It was unclear whether Mr. Kim was speaking of his own volition during the news conference, to which reporters from The Associated Press and other foreign journalists were invited.
South Korea called for the immediate release of Mr. Kim and demanded that he have access to a lawyer, saying that the detention of a religious missionary on charges of committing a crime against the state was “difficult to understand.”
During a news briefing, Kim Eui-do, a government spokesman in Seoul, did not comment on Mr. Kim’s assertions that he had worked with South Korean intelligence, or on other details of his remarks. The South Korean intelligence agency had earlier denied that a missionary was being held in the North while working as its spy.
The missile tests came two days after a North Korean patrol boat repeatedly ventured across a disputed western sea border with South Korea, prompting the South Korean Navy to issue warning broadcasts. The North Korean ship returned to its waters without setting off a clash.
Naval incursions and short-range missile tests by the North are not unusual. North Korea fired several short-range projectiles into waters off its eastern coast in May. It also launched a satellite into orbit via rocket in December 2012 that South Korea and the United States said they believed was part of the North’s efforts to build an intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead at a target as far away as North America.
At the news conference, the missionary, Mr. Kim, said he had entered the North with Bibles and other religious materials and movies on Oct. 7 and was arrested the following day. Before that, he said, he was running an underground church in the Chinese city of Dandong, near northwestern North Korea, to collect data from North Korean refugees that he would hand over to the South Korean intelligence agency. He received several thousand dollars from the agency, he said.
“I intended to change North Korea into a religious country and demolish the current North Korean government and political system,” he said, asking for the North’s leniency and his release. “I received cash from the National Intelligence Service and helped arrange North Koreans to spy for it.”“I intended to change North Korea into a religious country and demolish the current North Korean government and political system,” he said, asking for the North’s leniency and his release. “I received cash from the National Intelligence Service and helped arrange North Koreans to spy for it.”
During the news conference, North Korea released video footage of North Koreans allegedly confessing to their contacts with Mr. Kim. During the news conference, the North released video footage of North Koreans said to be confessing to their contacts with Mr. Kim.
On Thursday, South Korea called for the immediate release of Mr. Kim and demanded that he have access to a lawyer, saying that the detention of a religious missionary on charges of committing an anti-state crime was “difficult to understand.” The North Korean government has used such news conferences in Pyongyang or interviews with Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan, to let Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary held in the North since late 2012, speak to the outside world. Mr. Bae has also apologized for what he called his anti-North Korean crime, for which he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor last year, and has appealed for Washington’s intervention to win his release.
During a news briefing, Kim Eui-do, a government spokesman in Seoul, did not comment on Mr. Kim’s assertions that he had worked with South Korean intelligence or other details of his remarks. The South Korean intelligence agency had earlier denied that a missionary was held in the North while working as its spy.
Officially, North Korea says it guarantees religious freedom. Under the leadership of Kim Jong-un, however, North Korea has vowed to step up its efforts to block harmful influence from the outside, especially Christian messages.
Christian activists have been active along the Chinese-North Korean border for years, trying to recruit refugees from the North and train them as missionaries, sometimes dispatching them back into their home country to spread the Gospel and operate underground churches — something that could cost them their lives if they were caught.
The missionaries also distribute food for North Korean refugees and sometimes help smuggle them for resettlement in South Korea.
Mr. Kim’s sudden appearance followed the reunions last week of families split by the 1950-53 Korean War. The reunions were seen as a sign of improving ties between the two Koreas.
Earlier this month, an Australian missionary, John Short, was detained by the North Korean authorities in Pyongyang for carrying religious materials, his family said.