North korea: detained us citizen confesses to stealing secrets for south korea

A Korean-American man detained in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's official news agency and foreign media

reported on Friday. This picture released from North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 25, 2016, shows Kim Dong-Chul, a Korean-American as he addresses a news

conference in Pyongyang on March 25. A Korean-American man detained in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's

official news agency and foreign media reported on Friday. North Korea, which has been criticised for its human rights record, has in the past used detained Americans to extract high-profile

visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations. Kim Dong Chul, who has previously said he was a naturalised American citizen and was arrested in North Korea

in October, admitted to committing "unpardonable espionage" under the direction of the US and South Korean governments and deeply apologised for his crimes, the North's _KCNA

_news agency said. "The extraordinary crime I committed was defaming and insulting the republic's highest dignity and its system and spreading false propaganda aimed at breaking

down its solidarity," _KCNA_ quoted Kim as saying. A source in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang said that diplomats were notified in the morning of the confession and Kim's

comments were similar to the recent confession of another American being held there, Otto Frederick Warmbier. The US State Department said it was aware of the reported incident but had no

further details, citing privacy concerns. "The welfare of US citizens is one of the Department's highest priorities," department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said in a

statement. Warmbier was SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS OF HARD LABOUR in March for trying to steal a propaganda banner. The North is also holding a Korean-Canadian Christian pastor, who is serving a

life sentence for subversion. Kim apologised for trying to steal military and state secrets in collusion with South Koreans, and said he was paid for doing it. He described the acts as aimed

at overthrowing the North Korean regime, _KCNA_ said. Photographs issued by the North's state news agency showed Kim bowing and wiping away tears. Japan's _Kyodo_ news agency and

China's _Xinhua_ news agency also reported Kim's meeting with media outlets in Pyongyang where he confessed to anti-state activities. MEMORY STICKS Kim spoke of making contacts

with South Koreans to pass secret information contained in USB memory sticks and also images state media said were damaging to the North on data storage cards. Outside information is

strictly controlled in North Korea and ordinary people there often use USB sticks or other portable memory drives to share foreign media. An official introducing Kim to the media began the

meeting by praising North Korea's nuclear achievements and its leader, Kim Jong Un, said the source in Pyongyang, who had direct knowledge of the meeting. A defector from the North

previously said that Kim was a Christian pastor who had worked in China and the United States and sent medical aid into the North. _CNN_ reported in January that Kim was 60 and from Fairfax,

Virginia, and that he said he had spied on behalf of South Korea. Kim told media he was born in Seoul in 1953 and moved to the United States when he was 19. He said he set up a business in

the North Korean special economic zone of Rason in 2008, _KCNA_ said. He said his two daughters lived in New York and he had siblings in South Korea, it said. North Korea faces the prospect

of further international isolation after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions after its FOURTH NUCLEAR TEST in January and a long-range rocket launch in February.