3 American Prisoners In North Korea May Be Freed Soon: Reports

Three American prisoners held in isolated North Korea, one from Fairfax, Virginia, may be released soon as relations thaw between the dictatorial regime and the West, according to reports. Kim Dong-Chul, of Fairfax, Kim Hak-Song, a U.S. citizen, and Tony Kim, an American teacher, are all being held on various charges which North Korea deems anti-state. Their supporters maintain the men were in the impoverished country to send in medical aid, help orphans and teach starving farmers how to improve their methods.

The three prisoners were recently moved from a labor camp, according to a report. South Korean media quoted an activist as saying they were moved to a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang, Reuters reported.

The potential release of the prisoners comes amid what seems like a warming of relations between North Korea and South Korea, along with its ally the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in met on Friday, April 27, at the demilitarized zone between the two warring countries, inviting each other to cross over the border into their respective countries for the first time. They said they have a "common goal" of denuclearization, The Washington Post reported.

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Kim Dong-Chul, a South Korean-born man who lived in Fairfax, was arrested in October 2015 on spying charges, according to reports. Six months later, he was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor. He reportedly apologized while speaking to CNN, under military guard, for attempting to steal military secrets for South Korea and admitted he was spying.

However, admissions to crimes against North Korea are often coerced. Otto Warmbier, a student on a guided tour in North Korea, allegedly stole a propaganda sign in January 2016. The crime was “aimed at hurting the work ethic and the motivation of the Korean people,” he said under guard, and was sentenced 15 years hard labor. While incarcerated, Warmbier fell into a coma. He never recovered, dying in July 2017, the month he was released.

Katharine Moon of the Brookings Institute accused the North Korean legal system of having "no due process at all" and of not having independent assessors of people's guilt or innocence, the Guardian reported.

Two years ago, a North Korean defector and missionary who met Kim Dong-Chul in the United States told Reuters that he was a Christian pastor who had told church gatherings he was a missionary helping North Koreans. Kim was sending items, including medical aid into North Korea from China, the defector said.

Kim Dong-Chul said in an interview with CNN, in which North Korean officials required use of their translator, that he was spying on behalf of "South Korean conservative elements." He was tasked with photographing "military secrets and 'scandalous' scenes," he said.

Kim Dong-Chul was running a trading and hotel services company in a special economic zone, USA Today reported, when he was arrested. "I'm asking the U.S. or South Korean government to rescue me," he said during an interview in North Korea, CNN reported in January 2016.

A naturalized American citizen, Kim Dong-Chul was issued his U.S. passport in September 2014.

Tony Kim was arrested in April 2017 in the Pyongyang International Airport when he was trying to leave the country. He had been teaching accounting at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, largely funded by Christians in the U.S. and China, USA Today reported.

Kim had apparently been volunteering at an orphanage, South Korean news agency Yonhap said, according to the New York Times.

He had committed “hostile criminal acts with an aim to subvert the country," North Korean officials said, according to the New York Times.

Kim Hak-Song, like Tony Kim, was accused of "hostile acts," USA Today reported. He was doing agricultural development work at a farm at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology at the time.

An ethnic Korean born in China, Kim Hak-Song became a U.S. citizen in the 2000's while he was studying in California. "He was a very diligent, hardworking man determined to help people in North Korea," David Kim, a friend, told CNN.

White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders didn't confirm details about the release of the prisoners, but said Washington was "cautiously optimistic" about the talks, Reuters reported.

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• Trump: 'Good Chance' North Korea Will Move Toward Peace
• U.S. Tightens Sanctions On North Korean Shipping

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