Former North Korean captive Kenneth Bae urges other detainees not to lose hope
The longest-held U.S. prisoner in North Korea, missionary Kenneth Bae, was released in November 2014 after two years of ordeal. Bae urged those who remain as detainees in the communist country to not lose hope.
"Continue to have hope in the US government that they are doing everything they can to secure your release and also just take one day at a time," the Korean-American said in Washington at a briefing hosted by U.S. Representative Charles Rangel on Wednesday, May 11.
The 47-year-old has recently released a book entitled "Not Forgotten," where he revealed details about his experience as a North Korean captive.
Bae was arrested in November 2012 in the special economic zone of Rason and sentenced to hard labor for 15 years in April 2013 on allegations of "hostile acts to bring down the government." He used to run a legal tour company in the communist country before authorities discovered his real motive of missionary work when they found that he was carrying a hard drive loaded with Western media coverage of sensitive materials such as the 1990s famine.
He said he was sent to camp where he had to shovel coal, do farm chores, and dig earth. He was released with another American detainee named Matthew Todd Miller.
In an interview with CNN, Bae expressed his gratitude to Dennis Rodman whom he considered the catalyst for his release. "I thank Dennis Rodman for being a catalyst for my release," Bae said. "Because [of] his rant, media attention to my plight was increased. If I meet him someday, I just want to say thank you for what he has done."
Bae was referring to the former NBA player's statement in a 2014 press conference where he implied that Bae probably did something to deserve his 15 year sentence. This sparked criticism against Rodman who later retracted and apologized for what he said.
"I believe that maybe he was upset for something else, and I believe that he did apologize afterwards and it was a sincere apology," Bae concluded.
