A South Korean NYU student who had been detained in North Korea was released on Monday, according to FOX News. Joo Won-moon, 21, who is also a permanent resident of the U.S., was arrested along the border while trying to cross the North Korea-Chinese border for motivations that are still unclear.
Analysts are interpreting the move from Pyongyang to be an indicator that the North is still interested in bettering its relationship with its southern neighbor. Pyongyang has frequently used detainees to arm twist and win concessions from Seoul and the United States.
However, the North was quick to clarify that the move was just "humanitarian," according to the San Francisco Gate. North Korean media said that the Won-moon was deported in the border village of Panmunjom, without elaborating much.
It is illegal for South Korean residents to travel to the North without official approval, and the South's spy agency said that it had already launched investigations into whether Joo violated that very law that criminalizes any unapproved travel to the North.
Joo appeared in a 30-minute-long video exactly 10 days ago in Pyongyang, where he praised the North's leader Kim Jong Un, his administration and even the people of the North in general. He also assured his family that he was "healthy."
In a May interview with CNN, Joo said he wanted to be arrested and was ready to accept his punishment after he crossed the Amnok River from China into the communist country, according to NJ Advance Media.
"I thought that some great event could happen and hopefully that event could have a good effect on the relations between the North and [South Korea]," Joo said in the interview.
The released South Korean student was one of the four detainees that were being held in the North, according to ABC News. The three others remain held, and their crimes are said to be more serious. They include crimes like acts of espionage, or intentions to establish some churches and Christian movements in the North; both of these are regarded as serious crimes by Pyongyang.
North Korea has threatened to launch a long range rocket this week, as it marks 70 years since the ruling party was founded.
