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North Korea Says It Will Put American on Trial | North Korea Says It Will Put American on Trial |
(about 21 hours later) | |
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Sunday that it would put Matthew Todd Miller, one of the three Americans known to be held in the country, on trial in a week. | |
Mr. Miller will be tried at the North’s Supreme Court next Sunday, the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said, indicating that his trial will be a one-day event with no appeals allowed. | |
North Korea had earlier said Mr. Miller shredded his tourist visa and demanded asylum upon arriving in the country in April. Accusing him of unruly behavior, the North had said it would indict him on charges of committing a “hostile act” against the country. | |
Another American, Jeffrey Edward Fowle, also faces trial for a “hostile act.” Last year, an American missionary, Kenneth Bae, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor on charges of hatching a plot to overthrow the government through proselytizing. | |
In separate interviews last Monday with CNN and The Associated Press, the three Americans admitted to being guilty and beseeched the United States government to send a high-level envoy to negotiate their freedom. | |
The United States has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert R. King, to the North to appeal for the release of the Americans, but without acceptance. It has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, and relies on the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, the North’s capital, to represent the interests of its citizens held there. | |
North Korea previously used charges of “hostile acts” to sentence Americans to long prison terms as a means of securing visits from high-profile Americans, like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Analysts said the North wanted to extract similar visits to undermine Washington’s effort to increasingly isolate the country because of its nuclear and ballistic missile activities. | |
Washington has advised Americans against traveling to North Korea. | Washington has advised Americans against traveling to North Korea. |
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