North Korea Holds Prisoner U.S. Citizen Arrested for Espionage -CNN
North Korea is currently holding prisoner a U.S. citizen who was allegedly arrested for espionage, an official from Pyongyang told CNN in an exclusive interview.
The news comes amid rising tensions in the Korean Peninsula and an impending decision by Seoul and Washington to deploy additional troops to South Korea. The said official from Pyongyang allowed CNN to speak to the alleged American citizen currently being held in North Korea for espionage.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Will Ripley at a hotel in Pyongyang, Kim Dong Chul asked for help from the United States and South Korea. Kim, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, said he is from Fairfax, Virginia, the report relays.
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CNN's interview with the 62-year-old prisoner was conducted in Korean at the insistence of the guards who escorted him. The publication later independently facilitated the translation of the conversation.
In 2001, Kim moved to Yanji, which is located near the Chinese-North Korean border. Then, he traveled to Rason where he worked as the president of an international trade and hotel service provider.
Kim began conducting spying activities for "South Korean conservative elements" in April 2013, the Inquisitr reports. He was arrested in October last year while on his way to pick up a USB stick and camera used in information gathering, the report details.
"I was tasked with taking photos of military secrets and 'scandalous' scenes,'" Kim told CNN. "They asked me to help destroy the (North Korean) system and spread propaganda against the government."
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said Kim's claim of being a U.S. citizen still could not be verified.
As of now, Kim's wife and two daughters are staying in China. He has not been able to communicate with them since his arrest. He appears to be in good condition, and he said he is getting fed adequately.
Like other international prisoners who have not yet been charged, Kim is staying at a Pyongyang hotel where he is able to read the local papers and watch television. He said he knew about North Korea's reported hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6 and encouraged the United States to stop opposing Pyongyang.
