Another US citizen detained in North Korea
On April 21st, North Korea detained another US citizen. An American of Korean descent was taken into custody at Pyongyang airport while trying to leave the country, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Sunday, April 23rd, citing unnamed sources.
According to the information in the report, the detainee, who is just under 60 years old, is a former lecturer at the University of Science and Technology in the Chinese prefecture of Yanbian. He went to North Korea to assist with humanitarian projects. The reasons for his detention are unknown.
Currently, at least two US citizens are serving prison sentences in North Korea. In 2016, the North Korean Supreme Court sentenced Kim Dong Chul, an American born in South Korea, and Otto Warmbier, an American student, to forced labor.