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| North Korea Detains 3rd American in New Threat to Relations With U.S. | North Korea Detains 3rd American in New Threat to Relations With U.S. |
| (3 months later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — A municipal worker from Ohio on a tour of North Korea has been detained there for unspecified illegal acts, making him the third American known to be currently held in the isolated country and threatening to further aggravate its tense relationship with the United States. | |
| North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the detention on Friday, saying the tourist, Jeffrey Edward Fowle, had entered North Korea on April 29 and “perpetrated activities that violated the laws of our republic, which did not fit his stated purpose of visiting our republic as a tourist.” | North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported the detention on Friday, saying the tourist, Jeffrey Edward Fowle, had entered North Korea on April 29 and “perpetrated activities that violated the laws of our republic, which did not fit his stated purpose of visiting our republic as a tourist.” |
| The agency did not explain the nature of the accusations, but Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, citing unidentified sources, said Mr. Fowle had been seized in mid-May as he was about to leave the country and that he had left a Bible in his hotel room, which the North Korean authorities might have interpreted as the subversive work of a missionary. | The agency did not explain the nature of the accusations, but Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, citing unidentified sources, said Mr. Fowle had been seized in mid-May as he was about to leave the country and that he had left a Bible in his hotel room, which the North Korean authorities might have interpreted as the subversive work of a missionary. |
| The Korean Central News Agency provided no further details about Mr. Fowle but local media in the Dayton, Ohio, area said that he was a 56-year-old municipal worker in the suburb of Moraine and had a wife and three children. The website of the Dayton Daily News said the Moraine city manager, David Hicks, had described him as a longtime employee. Telephone messages left on Mr. Fowle’s home telephone answering machine and with Mr. Hicks’s office were not returned. | The Korean Central News Agency provided no further details about Mr. Fowle but local media in the Dayton, Ohio, area said that he was a 56-year-old municipal worker in the suburb of Moraine and had a wife and three children. The website of the Dayton Daily News said the Moraine city manager, David Hicks, had described him as a longtime employee. Telephone messages left on Mr. Fowle’s home telephone answering machine and with Mr. Hicks’s office were not returned. |
| The State Department confirmed Mr. Fowle’s detention, which came against a backdrop of resilient hostility between North Korea and the United States, largely over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile activities. | The State Department confirmed Mr. Fowle’s detention, which came against a backdrop of resilient hostility between North Korea and the United States, largely over the North’s nuclear weapons and missile activities. |
| Under Kim Jong-un, the young leader who took power in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, relations with the United States have become more strained. | Under Kim Jong-un, the young leader who took power in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, relations with the United States have become more strained. |
| “These detentions of Americans are becoming a disturbing pattern by the North Koreans to create bargaining chips and get worldwide attention,” said Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico who has served as a special envoy to North Korea. | “These detentions of Americans are becoming a disturbing pattern by the North Koreans to create bargaining chips and get worldwide attention,” said Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico who has served as a special envoy to North Korea. |
| “What they want in return from the U.S. is anyone’s guess given Kim Jong-un’s unpredictability,” he said. | “What they want in return from the U.S. is anyone’s guess given Kim Jong-un’s unpredictability,” he said. |
| Despite that hostility and efforts by the United States government to discourage American travel to North Korea, it has enjoyed rising interest as a tourist destination. A number of tour operators, mainly in China but at least one in the United States, offer organized visits. | Despite that hostility and efforts by the United States government to discourage American travel to North Korea, it has enjoyed rising interest as a tourist destination. A number of tour operators, mainly in China but at least one in the United States, offer organized visits. |
| The United States government toughened its longstanding admonishment against American travel to the North following the arrest last year of a tourist, Merrill E. Newman of Palo Alto, Calif. Mr. Newman was released after more than a month. The North had accused him of war crimes after having learned that Mr. Newman, a Korean War veteran, had helped train anti-Communist guerrillas. But it cited Mr. Newman’s age, 85 at the time, as a reason for releasing him. | The United States government toughened its longstanding admonishment against American travel to the North following the arrest last year of a tourist, Merrill E. Newman of Palo Alto, Calif. Mr. Newman was released after more than a month. The North had accused him of war crimes after having learned that Mr. Newman, a Korean War veteran, had helped train anti-Communist guerrillas. But it cited Mr. Newman’s age, 85 at the time, as a reason for releasing him. |
| North Korea is still holding at least two other American citizens. | North Korea is still holding at least two other American citizens. |
| Kenneth Bae, 45, a Korean-American missionary, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after he was accused of trying to establish a secret proselytizing network inside the North, using his tourism business as a front. North Korea is also holding Matthew Todd Miller, 24, who it said tore up his visa and demanded asylum after arriving in Pyongyang on April 10. | Kenneth Bae, 45, a Korean-American missionary, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after he was accused of trying to establish a secret proselytizing network inside the North, using his tourism business as a front. North Korea is also holding Matthew Todd Miller, 24, who it said tore up his visa and demanded asylum after arriving in Pyongyang on April 10. |
| Mr. Miller was a client of Uri Tours, an agency in Palisades Park, N.J., that organizes trips to North Korea. John Dantzler-Wolfe, the agency’s chief operating officer, said in a telephone interview on Friday that based on information from its contacts inside North Korea, “We believe his physical condition is O.K.” | Mr. Miller was a client of Uri Tours, an agency in Palisades Park, N.J., that organizes trips to North Korea. John Dantzler-Wolfe, the agency’s chief operating officer, said in a telephone interview on Friday that based on information from its contacts inside North Korea, “We believe his physical condition is O.K.” |
| Mr. Dantzler-Wolfe said he had no details on where Mr. Miller was or whether he had freedom of movement. He also said traveler interest in North Korea did not seem to be affected by the State Department warnings about visiting. “The State Department has always said that,” he said. | Mr. Dantzler-Wolfe said he had no details on where Mr. Miller was or whether he had freedom of movement. He also said traveler interest in North Korea did not seem to be affected by the State Department warnings about visiting. “The State Department has always said that,” he said. |
| Mr. Fowle was believed to have traveled to North Korea with a tour group. But Mr. Dantzler-Wolfe said he was not a Uri Tours client. | Mr. Fowle was believed to have traveled to North Korea with a tour group. But Mr. Dantzler-Wolfe said he was not a Uri Tours client. |
| The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the interests of American citizens. North Korea has twice canceled its invitation for Robert King, Washington’s special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, to discuss Mr. Bae’s case. | The United States has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the interests of American citizens. North Korea has twice canceled its invitation for Robert King, Washington’s special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, to discuss Mr. Bae’s case. |
| A State Department spokeswoman said on Friday that Mr. King remained ready to go to North Korea. | A State Department spokeswoman said on Friday that Mr. King remained ready to go to North Korea. |
| State Department officials also urged Americans considering trips to North Korea to read the department’s advisory that warns against such travel because “U.S. citizen tourists have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.” | State Department officials also urged Americans considering trips to North Korea to read the department’s advisory that warns against such travel because “U.S. citizen tourists have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.” |