North Korea’s state run news agency said Friday that Pyongyang will release Korean American missionary Robert Park.
Park, a United States citizen, was arrested on Christmas Day after illegally entering the communist nation in order to raise awareness about North Korea’s human rights abuses. The 28-year-old was reportedly carrying a letter for dictator Kim Jong-il, calling for him to release all political prisoners.
“The relevant organ of the DPRK (North Korea) decided to leniently forgive and release [Park], taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration,” the state-run KCNA news agency said.
Prior to his journey across the frozen Tumen River from China, Park told a Reuters reporter that he did not want United States officials to negotiate his release. He said he wanted to stand with the North Korean people, even if it meant dying with them.
Pastor John Benson of the Life in Christ Community Church in Tucscon, Ariz., who has worked closely with Park for several years, told KoreAm in December that his friend is a fiercely devoted Christian who, after working with North Korean refugees in Seoul, committed himself to doing whatever it takes to alleviate the suffering of the North Korean people. And because they continue to live under a repressive regime, he felt a sense of urgency to his mission, prompting his drastic action in December.
“It’s driven by love,” said Benson. “Seriously, this is the source.”
