North Korea releases detained South Korean NYU student

North Korea releases detained South Korean NYU student. October. 06, 2015 07:20. zeitung@donga.com.

North Korea made an unexpected move on Monday to release Ju Won-moon, a South Korean student who has permanent residency in the U.S., who had been detained in North Korea. Having been under detention, Ju has been sent to South Korea on the same day via the truce village of Panmunjom. “There were no behind-the-scenes negotiations to have him repatriated,” a government official in Seoul said. “The government has called on North Korea to release him through the countries with diplomatic ties with the North.”

North Korea used the liaison hotline of the truce village on Monday morning to send a notice under the name of the Central Committee of the Red Cross to notify that “Ju will be released in the afternoon.” Three more Koreans are still detained in North Korea, including a missionary named Kim Jeong-uk and two civilians named Kim Guk-gi and Choi Chun-gil, who have been sentenced to life in labor camps on charges of espionage.

Unlike the three other men, Ju said that it was out of curiosity that he visited North Korea in April this year. In fact, Ju was not sentenced to any punishment. In an interview with international press on Sept. 25, Ju said that he could not find any trace of human rights violations or oppressive politics. It is analyzed that North Korea opted to release Ju as doing so would be more conducive to the regime’s propaganda while avoiding criticism over the violation of human rights. The reparation can also serve as a timely pretext for the North to seemingly accept the demand from the South Korean government that asked for Ju’s release on Sept. 25.

A mouthpiece of the South Korean government said, “The North’s decision to set him free is a relief,” calling on the regime to “release the rest of the three South Koreans soon.” It is reported that the government and the prosecution will review whether Ju has violated the national security law.