NO-GO ZONE

N. Korea Parades Another U.S. Captive

For “spying” on behalf of S. Korea.

North Korea exhibited an American it accuses of spying for South Korea to state-run media Friday. Kim Tong Chul was paraded at a press conference in Pyongyang, during which Kim said he was involved in a plot to bring down the country’s leadership. He admitted to “spreading religious ideas” among North Koreans, The Washington Post reported. Kim stated that he was sorry for committing the alleged grievances, describing them as “shameful.” Former detainees have often said they were coached or coerced on what to say during similar public appearances. Kim, though born in South Korea, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who lived in Fairfax, Virginia, until he relocated to a city near the Chinese-North Korean border in 2011. He said he commuted daily to Rason, a special economic zone in North Korea, where he was president of a trade and hotel services company. He said in the Pyongyang event that he was detained in Rason last October. Just nine days ago, the North sentenced an American student tourist to 15 years of hard labor after he allegedly stole a propaganda banner as a souvenir.