Health of Christian missionary held in Pyongyang labour camp deteriorates
Seoul (AsiaNews) - Christian missionary Kenneth Bae sentenced to 15 years
hard labor by the government of
North Korea on charges of "crimes
against the state" has reportedly been hospialized near Pyongyang in
"standard" care conditions. Bae, also known as Pae Jun-ho,
is in the North Korean
prison since November 2012 but was only
brought to trial on May 2.
According to his sister Terri Chung, who spoke
with an American website, the detainee "is too weak to work. He is 45
years, has diabetes and a heart malformation. We are very worried about
his health, its getting worse by the
day" . For about a month,
American diplomacy has been doing everything possible to secure the release of its citizen: Some sources speak of a possible trip of former U.S. president
Jimmy Carter to
North Korea to negotiate his release.
Kenneth Bae is
known to be a "devout Christian." According to the charges brought by Pyongyang,
he used his work
- a tour operators across the 38th parallel - to "foment and
train target groups to overthrow
the legitimate government of Korea."
Several sources claim that Bae simply brought
humanitarian aid to certain groups
of North Koreans near the border.
In North Korea, there is no religious freedom and the faithful are in last place in the hierarchy of society.
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