U.S. detainees in the DPRK Since 1994, the detention of U.S. citizens in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has periodically been an issue in U.S.-DPRK relations.1 On several occasions, high-profile U.S. envoys have travelled to North Korea to secure the release of U.S. citizens. Negotiations over the release of U.S. citizens detained in the DPRK are complicated by the fact that the U.S. does not have diplomatic representation in the country. Although official U.S. communication with the DPRK is possible through the DPRK Mission to the United Nations in New York, on the ground U.S. interests in North Korea are represented through the Embassy of Sweden, and the Swedish Ambassador to the DPRK is authorized to make official visits to detainees. The frequency of detentions has recently increased, beginning with the arrests of journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling in 2009. Kenneth Bae, who was arrested while entering North Korea in November 2012, has also been detained in the DPRK for a longer time than any U.S. citizen since the Korean War. This issue brief, using publically available information from government and media sources, seeks to depict the circumstances of each individual’s arrest, the length of their detention, the type of sentence they were given (if any), and the conditions that led to their release. List of Individuals Detained in North Korea Jeffrey Edward Fowle (May 7, 2014 – October 21, 2014) entered North Korea as a tourist on April 29, 2014, and was arrested shortly before his planned departure. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) first announced his detention on June 6, saying that he had “acted in violation of the DPRK law, contrary to the purpose of tourism during his stay,” and was under investigation.2 News media reports have indicated that Fowle was arrested for leaving a dual- language English-Korean Bible, along with personal photographs and contact information, in the bathroom of a restaurant in the city of Chongjin.3 In monitored interviews with CNN and The Associated Press on September 1, 2014, Fowle said that he had admitted his guilt to the North Korean government, and that his treatment had “been very good so far.”4 He added that he expected to go on trial soon.5 However, Fowle was released without trial on October 21.6 Matthew Todd Miller (April 10, 2014 – Present) was detained upon entry to North Korea after arranging to travel there on a private tour. KCNA reported on his detention two weeks later, saying that he was put in custody “for his rash behavior in the course of going through www.ncnk.org Supporting Principled Engagement with North Korea Honorary Co-Chairs: Ambassador Tony P. Hall and Ambassador Thomas C. Hubbard Co-Chairs: Scott Snyder, Council on Foreign Relations and Robert E. Springs, Global Resource Services Steering Committee: Charles Armstrong, Columbia University; David Austin, MJ Murdock Charitable Trust; Brad Babson, DPRK Economic Forum; Robert Carlin, Stanford University; Katharine Moon, Brookings Institution; Susan Shirk, University of California, San Diego; Philip Yun, Ploughshares Fund. Executive Director: Keith Luse formalities for entry,” and that he tore apart his tourist visa and declared that he was seeking asylum upon entering the country.7 On September 14, 2014, North Korea’s Supreme Court charged Miller with “espionage” and sentenced him to six years of hard labor. KCNA reported that Miller “deliberately perpetrated such criminal act for the purpose of directly going to prison after being intentionally reprimanded by a legal organ of the DPRK, pursuant to the present U.S. administration's anti-DPRK campaign, spying on "human rights" performance and making it known to the world.” The report added that he sought to become a “second Snowden” and upon his arrest claimed to have brought information about U.S. military bases in South Korea.8 After his sentencing, Miller described the conditions of his incarceration in a monitored interview with the Associated Press: “Prison life is eight hours of work per day. Mostly it’s been agriculture, like in the dirt, digging around. Other than that, it’s isolation, no contact with anyone.”9 Merrill Newman (October 26, 2013 – December 7, 2013) is a Korean War veteran who was detained by DPRK authorities at Pyongyang’s Sunan Airport after taking a ten-day private organized tour of North Korea. During the Korean War, Newman had trained the South Korean Kuwol unit, which conducted guerilla activities in the North. In a videotaped confession released by North Korea, Newman said that he had “been guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against DPRK government and Korean people.” The confession added that Newman “had a plan to meet any surviving soldiers and pray for the souls of the dead soldiers in Kuwol Mt. during the Korean War,” and to connect surviving soldiers with the “Kuwol Partisan Comrades-in-Arms Association.”10 A week after his confession was made public, KCNA released a statement saying Newman had been released and deported “on the basis of his wrong understanding, apology… advanced age, and health condition.”11 In a statement released after his return to the U.S., Newman indicated that the words of the confession were not his. He said that he had requested permission to visit Mt. Kuwol while applying for a tourist visa to North Korea, and that the destination was part of his itinerary upon arriving in Pyongyang, although he did not ultimately travel to the region. Newman added that he had “asked my North Korean guides whether some of those who fought in the war in the Mt. Kuwol area might still be alive, and expressed an interest in possibly meeting them if they were.” Newman said that in planning his trip, he “just didn’t understand that, for the North Korean regime, the Korean War isn’t over.”12 Kenneth Bae (November 3, 2012 – Present) was arrested on November 3, 2012 in the Rason Special Economic Zone.13 Several months after his detention began, Bae was put on trial. According to KCNA, “Bae was sentenced to 15 years' hard labor for his anti-DPRK crime, an attempt to topple the DPRK, at the trial held on April 30, according to Section 60 (an attempt at state subversion) of the DPRK Criminal Law.”14 Among the list of his alleged crimes was setting up bases in China for the purpose of "toppling" the North Korean government, encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government, and conducting a "malignant smear campaign." State media also said that Bae had planned what it called a "Jericho operation" to bring down North Korea through religious activities.15 Part of the reason for Bae’s arrest may have been a video of a sermon he gave at a Korean-American Church in St. Louis, Missouri in 2009, in which he said he wanted to “collapse” the “walls” separating North Korea from the world.16 Bae officially began his sentence in May 2013.17 Two months later, it was reported through the Choson Sinbo that Bae had been hospitalized due to poor health and sought help from the U.S. 2 government.18 His mother, Myunghee Bae, was allowed to travel to North Korea for several days in October 2013 to visit him.19 In August 2013 and February 2013, the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, Robert King, arranged to travel to Pyongyang to discuss Bae’s release, but his invitation was ultimately rescinded on both occasions.20 Bae has been repeatedly transferred between a hospital and a work camp where he does farm-related labor, according to a statement he made in a monitored interview.21 At the time of writing, he has been detained for nearly two years. Eddie Jun Yong-su (November 2010 – May 28, 2011) was arrested on charges of an “anti- DPRK crime” in November 2010.22 According to the BBC, “It is believed he may have been carrying out missionary work while visiting the communist state on business trips.”23 Jun was in North Korea for over 6 months before his release. He was not convicted of any specific crime. In April 2011, former President Jimmy Carter, along with other former heads of state from The Elders, traveled to Pyongyang to learn more about the food issues in the DPRK and seek Jun’s release.24 However, Jun was not released at that time. A little over a month later, Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Robert King traveled to Pyongyang and was able to secure Jun’s release on May 28, 2011. Aijalon Mahli Gomes (January 25, 2010 – August 26, 2010) was an English teacher residing in South Korea when he illegally crossed into North Korea via the Chinese border and was subsequently arrested on January 25, 2010. Gomes was sentenced on April 6, 2010 to eight years of hard labor and fined roughly 70 million North Korean won for entering the country illegally and for committing an unspecified hostile act.25 Gomes was released on August 26, 2010 after former U.S. President Jimmy Carter travelled to North Korea to secure his release.26 The State Department said that Carter’s trip was made in a private, humanitarian capacity.27 Gomes was in North Korea for 214 days before his release. Robert Park (December 25, 2009 – February 5, 2010) was arrested for illegal entry on December 25, 2009. Colleagues of Park, who were interviewed by the BBC, stated that he had entered the country from China.28 After 43 days of detention, Park was released on February 5, 2010.