3 Americans Remain Imprisoned in North Korea
Two were arrested in the last two months; Tony Kim, also known as Kim Sang-duk, on April 23,
and Kim Hak-song, also known as Jin Xue Song, on May 6; the North Korean authorities accused each man of "hostile acts." Little is known about the case of the third American, Kim Dong-chul, including why he was detained in 2015.
"He had been involved with some other activities outside P.U.S.T., such as helping an orphanage." Mr. Kim, who is in his 50s, had previously taught at Yanbian University of Science
and Technology, an affiliated institute in the Chinese province of Jilin, near the North Korean border.
According to CNN, Mr. Kim, an ethnic Korean, was born in Jilin, China, near the North Korean border, and emigrated to the United States in the 1990s.
Mr. Kim had spent a month teaching accounting at Pyongyang University of Science
and Technology and was trying to board a plane to leave the country when he was arrested, according to the chancellor of the university, Chan-Mo Park.
Kenneth Bae said that Another
Mr. Kim’s predicament was not known until January 2016, when the North Korean government let CNN interview him in Pyongyang.
