US Rejects Link Between N. Korea Nuclear Diplomacy, Jailed American

The case of a U.S. citizen jailed in North
Korea is a human rights issue that has
no connection to long-stalled talks over
Pyongyang's nuclear weapons, the State
Department said on Wednesday.

Robert King, U.S. special envoy for
North Korean human rights issues, is
slated to travel to Pyongyang on Friday.
The State Department on Tuesday
described his trip as a “humanitarian
mission” aimed at winning the release of
ailing Kenneth Bae, a Christian
missionary and tour operator.

The release of Bae, sentenced by North
Korea's Supreme Court in April to 15
years of hard labor for state subversion,
would remove a big irritant in U.S.
relations with Pyongyang.
State Department deputy spokeswoman
Marie Harf said, however, that King's
trip is unrelated to international
diplomacy over North Korea, which   has
conducted three nuclear weapons tests
since 2006.

“I don't want to link the two in any way,”
she told reporters.
“We have repeatedly said that separate
and apart from any of the other issues
we talk about with North Korea that
Kenneth Bae needs to be released
immediately,” added Harf.

Harf reiterated Washington's position
that it expects North Korea to live up to
a denuclearization-for-aid deal it signed
in 2005 at six-party talks in Beijing.
Those talks involving China, Japan, the
two Koreas and the United States have
been frozen for nearly five years, during
which time North Korea conducted three
nuclear tests and a series of long-range
missile launches that prompted stiff U.N.
sanctions.

“We will continue to hold [North Korea]
to those commitments and its
international obligations,” said Harf.
“The onus is on North Korea here,” she
said.
North Korea said in July it would not
give up its nuclear deterrent until
Washington ends its “hostile policy”
towards Pyongyang, although it was
ready to revive nuclear talks. The two
countries do not have diplomatic
relations and official visits between
them are rare.

Bae, 45, was detained in November as
he led a tour group through the northern
region of the North Korea. The court that
sentenced him said he used his tourism
business to form groups aimed at
overthrowing the government.
Family Prays for Release
Bae's sister, Terri Chung, told Reuters
on Aug. 10 that her brother was moved
from a prison labor farm to a state
hospital because he suffered from a
range of health problems, including an
enlarged heart and chronic diabetes.
Asked about King's trip, Chung said on
Wednesday: “We are hoping and praying
for Kenneth's release, but we are
declining interviews at this time due to
the uncertainty and sensitivity of the
situation.”

The foreign ministry of Sweden, which
handles U.S. interests in Pyongyang,
said it understood Bae was still in the
hospital, where Swedish diplomats had
last visited him on Aug. 9.
Bill Richardson, a former U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations who
has traveled to North Korea to retrieve
detained Americans, said he was
optimistic for Bae because it was
unlikely King “would be going unless it
looked good.”

Previous trips, including those by former
U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill
Clinton, as well as his own visits,
involved “outsiders and not official
representatives,” Richardson told
Reuters by telephone.
“This time it's an official representative,
which is a good sign,” he said.
“Hopefully it will mean that the North
Koreans will say something positive
about resuming the dialog, which I
believe is very much needed.” he said.

Robert King, U.S. special envoy for
North Korean human rights issues