North Korea announced it is preparing to try two Americans, who entered the country as tourists, for carrying out what it says were hostile acts against the country, Reuters reported.
Investigations into the two Americans named Matthew Todd Miller and Jeffrey Edward Fowle concluded that suspicions about their hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their testimonies, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said in a short report, according to Reuters.
KCNA said North Korea is making preparations to bring them before a court, but it did not specify what the two did that was considered hostile or illegal, or what kind of punishment they might face. It also did not say when the trial would begin, Reuters reported.
Fowle arrived in the county on April 29 and North Korea's state media said in June that authorities were investigating him for committing acts inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit, according to Reuters.
Diplomatic sources said Fowle was detained for leaving the Bible in his hotel room, but a spokesman for Fowle's family said the 56-year-old from Ohio was not on a mission for his church, Reuters reported. His wife and three children said they miss him very much and "are anxious for his return home," according to a statement after his detention that was provided by a spokesman for the family.
KCNA said Miller, 24, entered the country April 10 with a tourist visa, but tore it up at the airport and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum, according to Reuters.
A large number of Western tourists visited Pyongyang in April to run in the annual Pyongyang Marathon or attend related events, Reuters reported. Miller came at that time, but tour organizers say he was not planning to join the marathon.
The latest arrests present a conundrum for Washington, which has no diplomatic ties with the North and no embassy in Pyongyang, according to Reuters. Instead, the Swedish Embassy takes responsibility for U.S. consular affairs in the North.
Despite its efforts to bring in more tourists, the North remains highly sensitive to any actions it considers political and is particularly wary of anything it deems to be Christian proselytizing, according to Reuters.
After Miller's detention, Washington updated its travel warning to the North to note that over the past 18 months, "North Korea detained several U.S. citizens who were part of organized tours. Do not assume that joining a group tour or use of a tour guide will prevent your arrest or detention by North Korean authorities," Reuters reported. It added that efforts by private tour operators to prevent or resolve past detentions of U.S. citizens in the DPRK have not succeeded in gaining their release.
