If the North Koreans have been paying attention to the plight of Jon Hammar in Mexico, they’re aware that the Obama government does very little to help Americans who find themselves facing off against corrupt governments. Never mind the lessons they might glean from recent events in Benghazi.
Kenneth Bae, a Korean American tourist who traveled to visit North Korea last month, was detained by police in the reclusive state, associates of his family and activists in Seoul said last week.
His custody comes amid tension between Pyongyang and Washington over a recent North Korean rocket launch, which U.S. officials consider a provocative test of ballistic missile technology.
“In the process of investigation, evidence proving that he committed a crime against the DPRK was revealed. He admitted his crime,” the state news agency KCNA reported.
A South Korean newspaper reports that Bae had been carrying a computer hard drive that contained images of the North Korean government executing dissidents.
Update: According to Fox, the judge in Jon Hammar’s case has ruled in his favor, and he will be released today. Republicans had began to call for a Mexico travel boycott as Hammar’s imprisonment dragged on.
Brilliant move, entering North Korea for any reason. Do not send the SEALS.
This is one of those situations where you commend a person for being ballsy enough to be willing to risk imprisonment by entering a country like North Korea and you condemn him to his fate that he knew would happen to him.
If America trades the store for this guy there will be an even more dangerous precedent set: Kidnap Americans and you’ll be handsomely rewarded for their capture.
It’s going to be rough for the next few years.
Should I feel sorry for the guy?
From what I researched on the net, he runs a tour business taking tourists to North Korea. Seems to me he should have been smart enough to not have incriminating evidence like pix on his hard drive.
Which makes me wonder if is what he says he is. Reminds me of the 3 “hikers” who were arrested in Iran several years ago. Both he and them have what to me – 24 years in AF intelligence – look like cover stories constructed by a certain agency.