US urges N Korea to grant amnesty to Kenneth Bae

Kenneth Bae

The US has called on North Korea to release immediately an American citizen sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for alleged anti-government crimes.

Pae Jun-ho, known in the US as Kenneth Bae, was detained last year after entering North Korea as a tourist.

"We urge the DPRK [North Korea] to grant Mr Bae amnesty," a US State Department spokesman said.

Mr Pae's sentence came amid high tension between the US and North Korea, after Pyongyang's third nuclear test.

Mr Pae, believed to be a tour operator of Korean descent, was tried on 30 April. It is not known if he was immediately taken to jail after the sentencing.
Source: BBC

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