American jailed, N. Korea

The US Department of State confirmed that a US citizen was arrested in North Korea in early June as he was leaving the country. At press time, Jeffrey Edward Fowle of Miamisburg, Ohio, continued to be held. No explanation was given, but, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency, Fowle was arrested for leaving a Bible in his hotel room.

Fowle joins two other Americans imprisoned in North Korea: Matthew Todd Miller, who was arrested April 10, 2014, and Kenneth Bae, who was arrested in November 2012. North Korea announced it will put Fowle and Miller on trial for “committing hostile acts.” In May 2013, Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary, was sentenced to 15 years of labor after being convicted of crimes against the state.

In early December 2013, North Korea released 85-year-old Merill Newman of Palo Alto, California, who — after having allegedly discussed his involvement in the Korean War with his tour guide and another North Korean — had been detained on Oct. 26 as he was boarding a plane (Jan. ’14, pg. 68). Before he was released, he was forced to confess to killing North Koreans during the war.