Though Dennis Rodman has seemingly become best friends with North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un, he is unsurprisingly the only American to do so. No one has ever suggested North Korea as an ideal vacation destination, and recently two American tourists found out the hard way.
On Monday, the North Korean government announced that they will try two U.S. tourists for crimes against the state. The announcement all but ends hopes that Jeffrey Fowle and Matthew Miller will be released by the isolated nation.
Fowle had been arrested shortly after entering the country at the beginning of April. His family lawyer reminisced how Fowle loved to travel and visited the country for a chance to get a glimpse of the last remaining “iron curtain” of the world.
Miller was detained around the same time, though he tore up his tourist visa and demanded asylum. The travel agency, Uri Tours, that booked Miller’s vacation reported that he was traveling by himself. Not much more is known about Miller.
North Korea’s official KCNA news agency explained, as reported by Reuters, “Their hostile acts were confirmed by evidence and their own testimonies.” At this point, that is all the information that has been provided. Neither the alleged crimes committed by the detained American tourists, nor what punishments they may face have been announced. The North Korean government has not even designated a court date.
Past punishments have varied. In November 2012 Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae was detained and then sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for “hostile acts” against the state. The North Korean government also arrested U.S. Korean war veteran, Merrill Newman, last year for alleged war crimes against the country as he was trying to leave. Newman was fortunate enough to be released after only a month in detention.
North Korean law has always remained a little murky. The government operates with zero accountability to anyone but themselves, so the laws and punishments can often vary depending on mood. For the most part, the punishments are tough. Labor camps are more often than not a death sentence for those who find themselves incarcerated.
Photo: (AP Photo/KCNA via KNS, File)
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