Earlier in 2016, members of Utah’s congressional delegation asked Washington lawmakers to investigate David Sneddon’s case, and try to determine if he had been abducted and taken to North Korea.
Advertisement
Authorities in China told the Sneddon their son likely died while hiking in the hiking in the Yunnan Province in western China, probably by falling into the Tiger Leaping Gorge.
The family of a college student who disappeared during a 2004 trip to China see new signs for hope after a Japanese news agency reported that he was kidnapped by the North Korean government.
David is reportedly living in the North Korean capital with a wife and two children. “This may put some fire in Congress”, Kathleen Sneddon tells KUTV, while both his parents say they believe there are many others like their son who’ve met the same fate.
Yahoo News Japan reported Choi Sung-yong, the head of South Korea’s Abductees’ Family Union, as saying Mr Sneddon was kidnapped to be an English tutor to the then-heir.
The third and youngest son of Kim Jon -il, Jong-Un was declared leader after his father’s death in 2011.
“We just knew in our heart that he was alive, so we had to keep fighting”, said Kathleen Sneddon.
Kim Jong-Un, the feared but often mocked Chairman of the Worker’s Party of Korea, was about 20-years-old when Sneddon became his tutor. Their belief is that Sneddon, who was 24 at the time, was wanted by the North Korean regime for training purposes because of his fluency in Korean.
The US Department of State announced Wednesday that they will begin searching for Mr Sneddon in North Korea.
Advertisement
“The evidence indicates that there are still a lot of unanswered questions about David’s disappearance”, Representative Chris Stewart, who serves on the US House Intelligence Committee said in a February statement. “One young man from Utah is a sad and woeful story, but when you look at the total number…”, dad Roy Sneddon says. They also expressed their sorrow for the people their son has likely taught for the past 12 years: “Pray for the people of North Korea that their lives will change”.
