A USA citizen who went missing from China several years back and was declared dead in 2004, has been reportedly found in North Korea and is believed to have been kidnapped on the orders of Kim Jong-un.
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He’s believed to have married a North Korean woman and become a father of two children.
A United States citizen living near Seoul told them someone fitting David’s description was teaching English in Pyonyang.
“We just knew in our heart that he was alive, so we had to keep fighting”, Ms Sneddon told Deseret News Utah.
On Wednesday, Yahoo News Japan reported that Mr Sneddon had been spotted in North Korea, where he is believed to live.
Among the reasons for their skepticism was that Sneddon’s body was never recovered, they said.
The disappearance of an American student from China about 12 years ago has stirred a controversy with media outlets claiming that the man, then 24, was allegedly abducted by the North Korea government.
If true, it could be one of the most astonishing stories to ever emerge from North Korea.
The province where Sneddon disappeared is in the far southwest corner of China, bordering Vietnam, Laos and Burma.
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. The report, featuring an interview with Choi Sung-yong, head of South Korea’s Abductees’ Family Union, states David is living in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, and teaches English to children.
Although the reports have not been verified, a fresh ray of hope is seen by David’s parents – Roy and Kathleen Sneddon. They operate a website and a Facebook page dedicated to bringing him home.
David parents had been confident their son was still alive, and suspected for years he was kidnapped by North Korea because of his fluency in Korean.
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“One of the highest priorities of the U.S. Department of State is the welfare of U.S. citizens overseas”, Kirby said. “But when you look at the total number”, Roy told the newspaper. The Sneddon’s always felt that the vanishing was the result of a kidnapping seeing as North Korea has a reputation for kidnapping foreigners.
