North Korea yesterday said it would put two US tourists on trial for committing crimes against the state, dimming any hopes among their families that they would soon be released.
“Their hostile acts were confirmed by evidence and their own testimonies,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, referring to Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller.
It gave no details on when they would face court.
Photo: EPA
It was the latest in a flurry of events in the volatile region as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) visits South Korea this week, and comes a day after Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles, defying a UN ban on such tests.
Xi is visiting Seoul on Thursday and Friday for talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye before going on to Pyongyang.
Part of the mixed signals sent by Pyongyang, the North yesterday offered to suspend military drills beginning on Friday, if the South would call off annual joint exercises with the US.
“The South Korean government should make a bold decision in response to our special offer and take a big step toward the new future to end the shameful past,” the National Defense Commission, the North’s top military body, said in comments carried by KCNA.
“Let’s show all Koreans and the world a resolute decision to completely stop all military hostile acts of pushing the North-South relations to the brink of a war,” the commission said.
The North is ready to suspend all acts of verbal provocation and slander from Friday, and urged the South to reciprocate, it said.
Earlier this year Seoul dismissed a similar North Korean overture as a “deceptive” propaganda exercise.
The North also urged the South to scrap its annual joint military exercises with the US scheduled for next month, to create a favorable mood for this year’s Asian Games in the South Korean city of Incheon. Pyongyang has promised to send athletes to the games, to be held from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.
Jeffrey Fowle, a 56-year-old street repairs worker from Miamisburg, Ohio, was arrested after entering North Korea as a tourist in late April, reportedly for leaving a Bible at a hotel.
“Jeffrey loves to travel and loves the adventure of experiencing different cultures and seeing new places,” said a statement from Fowle’s family lawyer, released early last month. “Mrs Fowle and the children miss Jeffrey very much, and are anxious for his return home.”
Little is known about Matthew Miller, who was taken into custody by North Korean officials after entering the country the same month whereupon he ripped up his tourist visa and demanded asylum, according to state media.
Miller was traveling alone, said a statement from Uri Tours, the travel agency that took the 24 year-old to North Korea, published on their Web site.
A spokesman for the New Jersey travel agency said Miller was in “good physical condition” and his parents were aware of the situation, but have chosen not to make any statement.
In May, the US Department of State issued an advisory urging Americans not to travel to North Korea because of the “risk of arbitrary arrest and detention” even while holding valid visas.
Additional reporting by AFP
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