Jung Wook Kim, a Baptist missionary from South Korea appeared at a North Korea press conference on Thursday after his arrest on October. The missionary stated that he was guilty of anti-government against the North Korean regime and that he had cooperated with South Korean intelligence officials.
Kim said at the press conference, “I was thinking of turning North Korea into a religious country, and destroying its present government and political system. I received money from the intelligence services and followed instructions from them, and arranged North Koreans to act as their spies. And I also set up an underground church in China, in Dandong, and got the members to talk and write, for me to collect details about the reality of life in North Korea, and I provided this to the intelligence services.”
The South Korean government denied that they had such ties with Kim and requested that North Korea release the missionary.
The Guardian pointed out that it was often mandatory for foreign captives to make “confessions” in public that could expedite their release. Kim even said that he had plotted to overthrow Kim Jung Un, the leader of North Korea, and had insulted his leadership with “colorful language”.
Kim is currently one of several missionaries held captive in North Korea, along with U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae who was sentenced to 15 years at a penal labor camp, and Australian missionary John Short who was arrested last week.
