Forum Views ()
Forum Replies ()
Read more with google mobile :
U.S. says N.Korea releases American citizen, no aid agreement
|
Edition:
U.S.
Article
Comments (2)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Air France crash sparks pilot mystery
27 May 2011
U.N. sees risk of crisis of confidence in dollar
25 May 2011
Palin welcome in Arizona neighborhood, media less so
27 May 2011
Exclusive: Hackers breached U.S. defense contractors
27 May 2011
New Idol McCreery aiming for Billboard Hot 100 top 10
27 May 2011
Discussed
129
As hours tick by, ”Judgment Day” looks a dud
105
Broadcaster silent as Judgment Day hours tick by
94
Obama departs for Europe trip, explores Irish roots
Watched
GM pulls the plug
Fri, May 27 2011
Scientists revive ancient spider in stunning 3D detail
Tue, May 24 2011
Deadly Missouri tornado captured on video
Mon, May 23 2011
U.S. says N.Korea releases American citizen, no aid agreement
Tweet
Share this
By Michael Martina
BEIJING (Reuters) - An American citizen detained in North Korea on unspecified charges for the past six months has been released, U.S. rights envoy Robert King said on Saturday following a visit to the secretive state's capital to...
Email
Print
Related News
Clinton calls on Pakistan to do more against militants
Fri, May 27 2011
North Korea says it is to release detained U.S. citizen
Fri, May 27 2011
Kim Jong-il says China alliance to bridge generations
Thu, May 26 2011
Anti-Americanism rife in Pakistan army institution: Wikileaks
Wed, May 25 2011
North Korea's Kim in likely top-level talks in China
Wed, May 25 2011
Analysis & Opinion
Aid: In favour of zero-tolerance
Hasta luego Depor
Related Topics
U.S. »
World »
North Korea »
U.S. rights envoy Robert King speaks to the media upon his arrival at Beijing airport from Pyongyang, in Beijing May 28, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee
By Michael Martina
BEIJING |
Sat May 28, 2011 1:09am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - An American citizen detained in North Korea on unspecified charges for the past six months has been released, U.S. rights envoy Robert King said on Saturday following a visit to the secretive state's capital to assess its pleas for food aid.
Japan's Kyodo news agency said Jun Young Su had accompanied King, but there was no overt sign at Beijing airport of the released U.S. citizen and King did not give details.
"We are very happy to report that Mr. Jun, the American citizen being held in Pyongyang, has been released. We are also delighted that in a day or two he will be back with his wife and family," King said upon arrival in the Chinese capital.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency only said King had left after a visit "to consult on humanitarian issues," but made no mention of Jun.
Jun was arrested last November, and admitted committing a crime "against the state" during an investigation, North Korea's official KCNA news agency reported. North Korea said on Friday he would be released on "humanitarian grounds.
Media reports say Jun was a businessman from California and that he had been doing missionary work in the isolated North.
There is a long history of the North detaining U.S. citizens and releasing them with great reluctance.
King, who led a team of five people to evaluate the North's pleas for food, said he had reached no agreement with Pyongyang on food aid.
King's five-day trip was the first official U.S. visit to North Korea since 2009, and comes amid signs the U.S. is looking to revive multilateral talks on the country's nuclear program after a hiatus of more than two years.
"While there our team had three-and-a-half days and very serious and thoughtful talks with the Foreign Ministry. We were warmly welcomed. We were received at the highest level," he told reporters, without saying with whom he had met.
"We discussed a number of issues and we will report back to Washington on our meetings. We did not negotiate or agree to any provisional food assistance. That is a decision that will have to be made in Washington."
King added that a field team will remain in Pyongyang until the end of next week.
His visit came as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il wrapped up a secretive visit to China, his third to Asia's biggest economy in just over a year.
The U.S. has come under mounting pressure to resume food aid to North Korea after a U.N. report said earlier this year that more than 6 million people urgently need help in the diplomatically isolated country.
Critics of aid say the North has siphoned off the food in the past to feed its million-strong army.
South Korea has said the North's food stocks are at the same levels as last year and have accused it of trying to hoard food ahead of a possible third nuclear test, which would likely provoke a further tightening of international sanctions.
The North, squeezed by tightened international sanctions for nuclear and missile tests in 2009, has asked about 40 countries for food aid.
The U.S. suspended food supplies to the North in 2008 over a monitoring dispute and has said it will only resume them with the South's agreement.
(Additional reporting by Cho Mee-young in Seoul and Junko Fujita in Tokyo; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sugita Katyal)
U.S.
World
North Korea
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters.
Comments (2)
bp07055 wrote:
That is wonderful the detanee was released. I hope that at least we have learned we cant control every country in the world in regard to nuclear weapons. We can only control our own behavior, and as Princess Leia would say to Darth Vader, the more Galaxies you try to grasp the more that will slip through your fingers”. Congrats Hilary on getting the Detanee released that is wonderful. Bruce Applegate, www.NewHeraldNews.com
May 28, 2011 1:27am EDT -- Report as abuse
Islander2010 wrote:
It does not make sense for U.S. citizens, no matter what their reasons are, to try to get into North Korea. The chances of being apprehended is quite high and the propaganda and concessions that the North Koreans wring out of such encounters works against the United States.
This goes for evangelizing Christian groups.
May 28, 2011 1:51am EDT -- Report as abuse
See All Comments »
Add Your Comment
Social Stream (What's this?)
© Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters
Editorial Editions:
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
United States
Reuters
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Help
Journalism Handbook
Archive
Site Index
Video Index
Reader Feedback
Mobile
Newsletters
RSS
Podcasts
Widgets
Your View
Analyst Research
Thomson Reuters
Copyright
Disclaimer
Privacy
Professional Products
Professional Products Support
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Careers
Online Products
Acquisitions Monthly
Buyouts
Venture Capital Journal
International Financing Review
Project Finance International
PEhub.com
PE Week
FindLaw
Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service
Reuters on Facebook
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Other News on Saturday, 28 May 2011 South Sudan says 80,000 flee after north takes Abyei
|
North Korea to free U.S. citizen held for six months
|
Dutch government to ban tourists from cannabis shops
|
Honda Canada warns customers of major data breach
|
California may review AT&T/T-Mobile USA deal
|
Ex-Nvidia analyst admits insider trading charge
|
Google, Facebook lose social network patent ruling
|
Digital book companies jostle for dominance in NY
|
Grease and Taxi actor Jeff Conaway dies at 60
|
Hangover sequel takes $31 million on first day
|
Serb court says Mladic fit for genocide trial
|
Bomb blast in NW Pakistan kills five
|
Air strikes and Russian pressure squeeze Gaddafi
|
U.S. says N.Korea releases American citizen, no aid agreement
|
Air France crash sparks pilot mystery
|
Six U.N. peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon bomb blast
|
FCC asks AT&T about spectrum claims
|
Amy Winehouse heads back to rehab
|
Gil Scott-Heron, credited with inspiring rap, dies
|
Cuban ballet to start U.S. tour next week
|
Egypt eases travel restrictions for Gaza travelers
|
Tenuous ceasefire eases conflict in Yemen
|
Egypt's Mubarak fined for communication services cut
|
NATO's commander for north Afghanistan survived Takhar blast
|
Surveillance of family helped find Mladic: official
|
Suicide bomber kills five in northwest Pakistan
|
Death toll in Syria Friday protests rise to 12: group
|
Karzai wants Afghans to take control of night raids
|
Spain PM backs veteran Rubalcaba as successor
|
Egypt's Mubarak fined for communication services cut
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights