Kenneh with his parents and son
The North Korean government has decided not to keep its initial promise in disc using the release of U.S. citizen and missionary Kenneth Bay. The U.S. State Department expressed great disappointment at this decision which took place very soon after agreeing to negotiations. The reason for the sudden change of heart was due to a scheduled joint military drill between the U.S. and South Korean armed forces.
Bae was arrested in November 2012, and was held in Pyongyang ever since. He was taken into custody while organizing tours going into North Korea from China. He was pressed with charges for plotting to overthrow the North Korean regime, and was eventually sentenced to 15 years of hard labor at a concentration camp.
The State Department is getting more and more concerned with the issue because of reports that Bae is currently suffering from ling-term illness. However, the North Koreans had removed him from the hospital to transport him to one of the labor camps. The State Department is currently planning to dispatch Ambassador King, the special envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues.
The military exercises by the U.S. and South Korean militaries are scheduled to commence on February 24th and will last until the 18th of April. The North Korean called the drills a prelude to war, and has shown extremely sensitive reactions to such activities ever since the end of the Korean War.
Bae's family and even President Obama himself expressed their dire wishes for the missionary's release.
