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North Korea Detains Another American Citizen

North Korea Detains Another American Citizen

The hermit country now holds three Americans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Mgdz27sgE

Officials in North Korea have detained an American citizen this weekend. The communist kingdom now has three Americans behind bars. Reuters reported:

Korean-American Tony Kim had spent a month teaching an accounting course at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), the university’s chancellor, Chan-Mo Park, told Reuters on Sunday.

Kim, who also goes by his Korean name Kim Sang-duk and is in his fifties, was detained by North Korean officials at Pyongyang International Airport as he attempted to leave the country, Park said.

“The cause of his arrest is not known but some officials at PUST told me his arrest was not related to his work at PUST. He had been involved with some other activities outside PUST such as helping an orphanage,” Park said.

“I sincerely hope and pray that he will be released soon”.

Martina Aberg, the deputy chief of mission at the Swedish Embassy in North Korea, confirmed the news. She told CNN that authorities stopped Kim “from getting on the flight out of Pyonyang.” She could not “comment further than this.”

The State Department told the media that officials “are aware of reports that a US citizen was detained in North Korea.” Officials promised to work on the case with the Swedish Embassy. America works with this embassy since we do not have one in the country.

Other Two American Citizens

North Korea sentenced Otto Warmbier, 22, to 15 years of hard labor last January. Authorities arrested him on January 2, 2016, before he boarded his plan and charged him with “committing a hostile act against the state” when he tried to steal a propaganda sign.

In March 2016, after a one hour trial, the court sentenced Warmbier to 15 years of hard labor.

A month later, North Korea sentenced Kim Dong Chul, 63, who was born in South Korea and a naturalized American citizen, to 10 years of hard labor for alleging spying and trying to steal state secrets.

The country arrested Chul in October 2015, but the U.S. did not know about him until North Korean authorities showed him off to a CNN crew in Pyongyang.

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Comments

Why do people go there?

    Arminius in reply to Old0311. | April 23, 2017 at 9:15 pm

    Jesus H

    Arminius in reply to Old0311. | April 23, 2017 at 9:21 pm

    I went there to earn bonus veterans points.

    Apparently, to become hostages.

    Evil Otto in reply to Old0311. | April 24, 2017 at 9:01 am

    Because they think that nothing bad can possibly happen to them. North Korea to some is a joke, a Saturday Night Live skit of a nation, and so they assume they can go there safely because those NK commies are just a farce. I’ve read more than a few travelogues of people visiting NK… some are pretty funny, but I always wonder if these idiots understand the risk they’re taking. Not only that, but they’re risking the lives of every North Korean they interact with. I read one a while back where the author bragged about giving his tour guide the slip so he could do a little exploring. I wonder if he gave any thought to the fact that the government might punish the tour guide for losing track of him.

      Arminius in reply to Evil Otto. | April 25, 2017 at 2:35 am

      They really are out to kill you.

      If I have a lasting legacy in the Navy, it was pounding that lesson home.

      My DI did it for me.

Troubling development. I’m hoping that this is just a stunt, and they’ll release him to show the world how humanitarian they are.

As far as Warmbier goes…well, he gets the Michael Fay Award. Don’t do stupid things when you’re in another country.

    rdm in reply to windbag. | April 24, 2017 at 7:28 am

    If you were in North Korea at all it is too late to avoid doing stupid things in another country; because being in North Korea at all is in itself a very stupid thing.

Trade them Barack and Michelle Obama and Jane Fonda.

Never mind – they don’t want mutts.

Apparently, to become hostages.

It had become glaringly obvious that it is time to get the Special Operations Community to make a point to the Norkies. Send them in have them grab the American’s and bring them home.

We need to go back to the days where kidnapping, harming, or killing US citizens basically meant you were dead period.

    Arminius in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 24, 2017 at 2:08 pm

    The conventional forces will do nicely, thank you very much.

      Gremlin1974 in reply to Arminius. | April 24, 2017 at 6:19 pm

      Nahh, we don’t need to give Kim Jong Crazy any real reason to use a nuke I mean he might actually try and then the poor boy might hurt himself. Quiet with plausible deniability is better. Then when he starts ranting about attacks by American operatives everyone will just think it is his usual crazy.

        Arminius in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 24, 2017 at 9:50 pm

        You could be right. Still a big fan of Seventh Fleet and the Second Infantry Division.

        Second ID! Second to none!

        If it wasn’t for all the time I spent in Camp Casey I couldn’t have joined the VFW.

anyone stupid enough to go to North Korea, at ANY time, let alone these days, deserves what they get.

zero sympathy from me. life is tough & it’s tougher when you’re stupid.

    Arminius in reply to redc1c4. | April 24, 2017 at 1:58 am

    South Korea. I wouldn’t go to the north.

    Arminius in reply to redc1c4. | April 24, 2017 at 7:41 am

    There’s nothing to eat in the north.

    I did take the sinking of the Cheonan kind a personal.

    http://www.usfk.mil/Media/News/Article/609891/service-members-remember-roks-cheonan/

    Wanted to go to North Korea for that.

    I ate lunch on the Anyang. It was funny as h2ll. The skipper apologized to me; “We don’t have the special food for foreigners.”

    Maybe I am the idiot. The more I think about it the more I want to exact some revenge for the Cheonan. They were my paisani.

    Arminius in reply to redc1c4. | April 24, 2017 at 7:44 am

    I wouldn’t go to North Korea on anything less then an Arleigh Burke. How about that?

      Gremlin1974 in reply to Arminius. | April 24, 2017 at 6:20 pm

      I would prefer the Newport News myself, but that great lady is not longer with us.

        Arminius in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 25, 2017 at 12:32 am

        If I had to reach back into history I’d have to prefer the light cruisers.

        If I had my pick of where to spend St. Paddy’s Day it would have to be Newport News.

        Any Rhode Islanders, eat a Quahog on my behalf.

        Arminius in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 25, 2017 at 12:33 am

        You have excellent taste, I must say.

        Arminius in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 25, 2017 at 12:58 am

        I have to say I nearly caused an international incident on my visit to the Anyang. A Lieutenant was assigned to show me around the boat. I was trying to take polite interest because in all honesty a ROKN Patrol Corvette is pretty d#mned primitive compared to what we have in the inventory. So, while we were looking around the 3″ gun mount, I politely asked, “Hey, how many rounds do you keep in ready storage?”

        I honestly couldn’t give a s***. But he looks at me and says, “That’s a secret.”

        His secret is safe with him.

    Arminius in reply to redc1c4. | April 24, 2017 at 7:47 am

    You just don’t kill Sailors I’ve had lunch with.

Travel to North Korea to teach an accounting course? That doesn’t seem like a very bright idea. OK….wanting to see the “old country” has a draw..but North Korea? He obviously didn’t count the costs.

Trade them all for Dennis Rodman.

Your headline says, “The hermit kingdom now holds three Americans.” It should say it now holds AT LEAST three Americans. No one knows how many Americans have been kidnapped by this regime; but it has been spiriting away unwilling citizens into its prison for many years. It’s likely that David Sneddon, an American linguist was captured from China and pressed into servitude over 10 years ago by the Norks. http://www.helpfinddavid.com/

    Arminius in reply to friuliveneto. | April 24, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    I am not unsympathetic. I just don’t want to give them the chance.

    If I hear you correctly, you’re speaking about missionaries.

Maybe Pres. Trump needs to show them how to make a ” Glass Factory,” from 40,000 feet.

I would much rather to to war with Iran. In case my opinion counts.

I bet going to war with Iran would shut the NORKs up.

And sooner or later, we’re going to have to.

It’s not going to be pretty.

http://www.navy.mil/ah_online/ftrStory.asp?id=73470

“Operation Praying Mantis
A Look Back at How U.S. Naval Forces Responded to Hostile Forces in the Arabian Gulf.”.

If I appear to give anyone the impression I take war lightly, think again. I practically grew up visiting a Naval Regional Medical Center, where the passageways were lined with men in wheel chairs, horribly burned.

All I can say is, better me than you. I think I can take the weight. I’d feel horrible sending someone to do a job I wouldn’t do.

“…because in all honesty a ROKN Patrol Corvette is pretty d#mned primitive compared to what we have in the inventory…”

Now that we’ve retired the FFG-7

Who cares? Any American stuid enough to go to NORK is not worth worrying about.

    Gremlin1974 in reply to Mannie. | April 25, 2017 at 5:29 pm

    That’s not the point. The point is the message it sends when you allow them to do things like this without reprisal. It just makes them more bold. If you don’t believe that just look at the middle east and the absolute cluster it became in just 8 years.

    Why did we influence world politics after WW2, because everyone was afraid of us, we are the only country to ever use Nuclear Weapons in anger. What message did that send? The message was “We will do it!” The problem is we didn’t maintain that level of strength afterwards.

    Detaining a US citizen should be something that gives even out allies pause, I don’t give a damn if it is Charles Manson or some dumb as soldier that got in a bar fight. For our enemies to detain a US citizen should be unthinkable because of the destruction it will bring. Actually killing a US citizen should be met with a 1-1000 retaliation ratio. (i.e. for every 1 of our they kill we will kill 1000 of theirs, period.)

    You can’t reason with psycho’s and zealots the only thing you can do is kill enough of them that you get the point across, or there aren’t enough of them left to cause a problem.

      Mannie in reply to Gremlin1974. | April 26, 2017 at 4:14 pm

      We detain foreign citizens all the time. Our people are arrested for more or less bogus charges all over the World. Do we even know what these mopes were charged with? I don’t suppose it matters. Those mooks can make up any kind of charges they want; damnear everything is illegal there.

      Still, leave them as a discouragement to others.

People that travel to north Korea do not have lives that matter.