pyongyang paranoia

American in N. Korean Labor Camp

Kenneth Bae transferred from hospital to camp.

American Kenneth Bae was transferred from a hospital to a labor camp in North Korea, the State Department said on Friday. A Christian father of three from Lynwood, Washington, Bae was arrested in November 2012 along the country’s northeastern coast. He operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North Korea and was accused of planning to bring down the government through religious activities. In a statement last month (which was sanctioned by the North Korean government), Bae told reporters that he had committed a “serious crime” and that he had not been subjected to abusive treatment. Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that the U.S. remains gravely concerned about Bae’s health and again urges Pyongyang to grant him, “special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds.”