(I sometimes feel like we need a thread just for the glorious deeds of the North Korean government)
So if nobody knows who Kenneth Bae is, Kenneth Bae, who the North Koreans refer to as Pae Jun Ho, was arrested in November in Rason city, a port in the northeastern corner of North Korea.
He is a was a tour operator who may have used this title as a way to smuggle in Christian Mercenaries to preach the gospel.
He was accused of using the missionaries as a disguise to corrupt the minds of North Koreans and other foreigners by smearing the government and making plans of how it should be overthrown and confronted more often.
North Korea said Wednesday that the U.S. citizen was sentenced last month to 15 years of hard labor has begun his stay at a "special prison."
In the past, North Korea has released Americans in its custody after visits by a U.S. dignitary -- in recent examples, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
But North Korea said earlier this month that Bae is not a "political bargaining chip."
This sounds like a load of rubbish to me, but should we go in and save him? What are the rules exactly, regarding bad behavior overseas?
"Kenneth Bae had traveled to the country previously with no problems and had no reason to suspect that this time would be different."
The government gives the illusion that there is freedom of religion by providing churches and monestaries to religions of their choosing. I've heard that some of the religions are even modified to the government's liking. So it's a bit of both, honestly.
North Korean youngsters dressed in miniature replicas of military uniforms have celebrated Children's Day with a parade featuring toy cars decorated to look like tanks and rocket launchers. About 3,000 children took part in games, dances and a military parade in the country's capital, Pyongyang. Groups of children took part in traditional Korean games, part performance and part competition.
Tensions in the Korean peninsula have subsided in the past month after being high for several weeks following tougher UN sanctions against Pyongyang over its third nuclear test.
