S. Korean detained by North freed, deported

Seoul welcomes student's release, urges Pyongyang to free three other South Koreans

Mr Joo Won Moon, a South Korean with permanent US residency, in front of portraits of North Korea's former leaders Kim Jong Il (right) and Kim Il Sung during a press conference in Pyongyang on Sept 25.
Mr Joo Won Moon, a South Korean with permanent US residency, in front of portraits of North Korea's former leaders Kim Jong Il (right) and Kim Il Sung during a press conference in Pyongyang on Sept 25. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL • North Korea has freed and deported a student born in the South who was arrested in April for illegal entry, Seoul said yesterday.

Mr Joo Won Moon, a 21-year-old student of New York University who has permanent US residency, was repatriated through the border truce village of Panmunjom on the inter-Korean border, Seoul's Unification Ministry said.

The move is likely to be seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of a key political anniversary. Seoul welcomed Mr Joo's release, but also urged Pyongyang to repatriate three other South Korean citizens being held in the North.

Mr Joo's release came after he was presented to the media in the North on Sept 25 and read out what seemed to be an officially approved statement, admitting his guilt and singing the North's praises.

Unlike some other foreign citizens detained in the North, he was never put on trial.

"This morning, North Korea's Red Cross sent a message saying it would repatriate Joo at 5.30pm through Panmunjom," the ministry said in a statement.

"We welcome the decision to repatriate (Mr Joo)... and we urge North Korea to release three other (South Korean) people being detained," it added.

Two South Koreans were sentenced to life with hard labour in June on espionage and other charges. A South Korean missionary was given a similar sentence in May last year, also on espionage charges.

Mr Joo was arrested after crossing the Yalu River into the North from the Chinese border city of Dandong on April 22.

He told CNN in an interview in May that he had crossed two barbed-wire fences and walked through farmland until he reached a large river. He followed the river until soldiers arrested him.

"I thought that by my entrance... some great event could happen and hopefully that event could have a good effect on the relations between the North and South Korea," he said at the time.

Born in the South Korean capital Seoul, he moved to Wisconsin in the United States with his family in 2001, and then moved again to Rhode Island.

Numerous foreigners, mainly Americans and often evangelical Christians, have crossed illegally into the North over the years.

The North normally releases them after they have served a short prison term, sometimes in response to a visit by a senior American official.

Mr Joo's release comes as North and South Korea prepare to hold a rare reunion later this month for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean war.

There are concerns that the event could be cancelled, amid speculation that the North is preparing a long-range rocket test to mark the 70th anniversary on Oct 10 of its ruling Workers' Party.

Any such launch would violate UN resolutions and trigger a spike in military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 06, 2015, with the headline S. Korean detained by North freed, deported. Subscribe