Three Americans who are currently being detained in North Korea—Kenneth Bae, Jeffrey Fowle, and Todd Miller—were brought to a Pyongyang hotel on Monday to interview with CNN and the Associated Press. The interviews were monitored by North Korean officials, and according to the CNN report, the interview was unexpected and the process leading up to the interviews were “bizarre.”
“A CNN team was on a government tour about two hours outside Pyongyang when it learned it had to leave immediately to meet with a high-level government official in the capital,” the report read. “The crew boarded a van to a secret location, where it found out the meeting was with the three Americans.”
In their interviews, during which each individual was given five minutes, all three of them expressed that the U.S. must send a high-ranking official as a representative to North Korea to help them out of detainment and the country. They also all have signed statements in which they admitted to the crimes they were accused of.
Bae was arrested in 2012 on charges of being part of a Christian scheme to overthrow the North Korean government and has been sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment in the labor camps. In July, another video of him was released to mainstream media expressing his health concerns and the fact that he is being forced to work at the labor camps despite his spinal injury, problems with his lungs and liver, and diabetes. He had been running a tour company which regularly hosted tour trips to North Korea before his arrest.
“Right now, what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me,” he said. But, he said, despite his failing health and the harsh labor, he has been treated “humanely.”
Fowle, an American tourist, was arrested for leaving his Bible in the bathroom of a hotel. The Bible contained photos of himself and his family, as well as his name and contact information. A janitor reported him upon finding the Bible.
However, Fowle also said that his treatment “has been very good so far.”
He added, “I hope and pray that [the good treatment] continues, while I’m here two more days or two more decades.”
Miller, the youngest detainee, was arrested for tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum as soon as he entered the country.
Both Fowle and Miller are awaiting their trials.
“There’s been no movement from my government,” said Miller. “The American government is known for having a strong policy of protecting its citizens, yet for my case there is still no movement.”
Fowle expressed his desperation to return to his family during the interview. “I’ve got a wife and three elementary school-aged kids that depend on me for support."
CNN quoted Patrick Ventrell, the U.S. National Security Council, saying that the release of the detainees “is a top priority and we have followed these cases closely in the White House. We continue to do all we can to secure their earliest possible release.”
