After a near six-month detention in North Korea, South Korean student Joo Won-moon was repatriated at the border village of Panmunjom on Monday.
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Seoul welcomed the North’s release of Joo on Monday and called for the additional release of three South Koreans detained in the communist country, all of whom are accused by Pyongyang of illegal entry to undermine the regime.
Joo was interviewed by an worldwide news network in May that broadcast the interview of the permanent USA resident, who is attending NYU.
A senior U.S. official today warned that North Korea will face “strong actions” from the global community if it goes ahead with a long-range rocket launch in violation of United Nations resolutions.
China has been North Korea’s ally since it sent troops during the 1950-53 Korean War and the two were once said to be “as close as lips and teeth”.
Joo’s release came just days before the North celebrates the 70th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party on Saturday, and the move is likely to be seen as a goodwill gesture.
Sunday’s announcement comes amid a long dry spell in exchanges between the sides, whose traditional close relations have been strained by North Korean missile launches and nuclear tests.
After Joo was caught entering North Korea from China, Beckman told NBC News that he wasn’t enrolled in classes at the time but confirmed that he had been studying at the university’s business school.
“I am well and there’s no need to worry, because the people here have treated me with the best of humanitarian treatment”, Joo said from an undisclosed location in Pyongyang.
With the repatriation of Joo, the North is holding three South Koreans – missionary Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil. Joo told the media that he had not been able to contact his parents and that he was healthy, in a well-rehearsed speech, according to ABC News.
Seoul and Pyongyang have agreed to hold the reunion of separated families in North Korea’s scenic resort of Mount Kumgang from October 20 to 26 after high-level talks in late August to defuse tensions that had pushed the Korean Peninsula to the brink of armed conflict.
Joo is still in South Korea, where he could potentially face charges for entering North Korea without government permission.
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He was sentenced to hard labor for life in May 2014.
