catman
Joined: 18 Jul 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:18 pm Post subject: Canadian aid worker being held in North Korea |
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EDMONTON - Religious and humanitarian groups hope a Canadian aid worker arrested in North Korea can be released through the efforts of quiet diplomacy.
Je Yell Kim of Edmonton was detained by North Korean authorities on Nov. 3. Postings on websites say the dental technician and businessman was helping to set up medical and dental clinics in the impoverished communist country.
One website said he also helped establish a Sunday worship service for expatriates living in North Korea with the government's consent.
"Mr. Kim's family and colleagues initially decided against any widespread release of the fact of his arrest," reads a post on a blog written as an urgent plea for prayers for Kim.
"Instead, the family and a small group of Mr. Kim's colleagues sought a quick and quiet release through diplomatic channels. We were joined in our effort by the Canadian government. However, the North Korean government has refused to release him, nor given the Canadian government any timeline."
Foreign Affairs Department officials in Ottawa would not comment on media reports that suggested Canadian diplomats were working to secure Kim's release or provide any other information.
Erich Weingartner, who has worked in North Korea for international charities such as the World Food Program, said there are plenty of rumours bouncing around about Kim's arrest, but very little hard information.
People know that he was working in a free-trade zone located in northeastern North Korea near the Chinese border, but little else.
He said no one in the religious and aid group communities he has spoken with appears to know why Kim was detained.
"The reason for his arrest is a mystery," Weingartner said. "There is some story floating about having to do with him carrying around some kind of sermon in his pocket."
A U.S.-based group that sends humanitarian aid to North Korea said that Kim's daughter, Su Jin Kim, has told them that her family did not want to go public about her father's arrest.
A spokeswoman for the group said organizations that deal with the Pyongyang government are worried the publicity will make it more difficult to win his release.
"I would just be horrified if the efforts of the past few weeks and months get turned upside-down because of a story," said a spokeswoman for the group, who did not wish to be identified.
"That could happen. The North Koreans are very sensitive."
Members of a Canadian group that tries to build cultural and religious ties with the secretive totalitarian country say the fact Canada does not have an embassy in North Korea will make it more difficult to help Kim.
Don Rickerd of the Canada DPR Korea Association said that the fact that Kim was born in Korea could also complicate any negotiations.
However, Rickerd said the federal government's quiet approach to Kim's arrest may yield the best results.
"I think the Canadian government is proceeding in exactly the right way - saying virtually nothing about it - because the North Koreans don't respond well to negative publicity," he said.
"That is why the church people asked for prayer rather than demonstrations out in front of some buildings. This sort of thing takes a long time to resolve."
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I wonder if proselytizing is against the law in North Korea? |
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