North Korea: US citizens set for release ahead of Trump-Kim talks

The three Americans have been detained on charges ranging from committing "hostile acts" against the regime to spying for a foreign country. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
Three American citizens detained in North Korea seem set to be released ahead of a meeting between the two countries’ leaders next month. The BBC reported that the three men had been “relocated to a Pyongyang hotel and are receiving good food and medical care”. US President Donald Trump tweeted . . . Read More

North Korea frees Canadian church leader ‘on sick bail’

North Korea frees Canadian church leader ‘on sick bail’
Hyeun-soo Lim, the Korean Canadian church leader sentenced to life in prison with hard labour, has been freed today (9 August) “on sick bail”, says a North Korean state news agency. Convicted in December 2015 by the country’s Supreme Court of numerous charges, including an attempt to overthrow the government, he had been detained . . . Read More

US Christian arrested for ‘hostile acts’ against North Korea

US Christian arrested for ‘hostile acts’ against North Korea
A fourth US citizen has been detained in North Korea, as he prepared to leave the country after working for several weeks at the Pyongyang University for Science and Technology, which trains the children of North Korea’s elite and which numbers Christians on its staff. The North Korean state-run news agency KCNA said . . . Read More

China accuses Canadian Christian of spying

A Canadian Christian who ran a coffee shop on China’s border with North Korea has been charged with spying and stealing state secrets, . Kevin Garratt, who has been detained since August 2014, worked for the Canada-based Christian organisation, North Star Aid, and ran a coffee shop in Dandong, which . . . Read More

Pope’s Korean visit highlights plight of North’s Christians

Pope’s Korean visit highlights plight of North’s Christians
Pope Francis has arrived in South Korea and is calling for peace and dialogue between the two Koreas instead of ‘displays of force.’ His five-day visit is the first time a Pope has visited the Korean Peninsula in 25 years. It coincides with the appeals of two detained American Christians, . . . Read More