North Korea Displays Detained Missionary

Feb. 27, 2014 4:28 a.m. ET

South Korean Baptist missionary Kim Jung-wook speaks during a news conference in Pyongyang, North Korea, Feb. 27, 2014. Associated Press

SEOUL—A South Korean missionary held in North Korea appeared on state television Thursday and claimed he worked under Seoul’s orders to topple the North’s regime, the latest apparent stage-managed display of a detained religious worker by Pyongyang.
The Baptist missionary, Kim Jung-wook, said he was arrested in early October while trying to build underground Christian churches in North Korea.
“I wanted to let others know that I’ve done something very wrong,” said Mr. Kim, who appeared to be in good health and wore a suit and tie. Some of the video was shown on South Korean television.
North Korea’s state news agency had reported on the detention of an alleged South Korean spy in November but didn’t name the person or respond to South Korean requests for information.
Mr. Kim said he was caught with Bibles and other religious literature and had received money from South Korea’s intelligence agency.
“I followed instructions from them and arranged North Koreans to act as their spies,” Mr. Kim said, according to the Associated Press, which reported on the event from Pyongyang.
Mr. Kim said he set up and used an underground church in the Chinese border city of Dandong as an intelligence hub for the South’s spy agency. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said it had no relation to Mr. Kim or the alleged underground church.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles North Korea-related issues, urged the North to release Mr. Kim.
“Calling a South Korean citizen engaged in purely religious activities an antistate criminal is hard to fathom,” said spokesman Kim Eui-do.
The televised event makes Mr. Kim the third known missionary currently detained by the North. American missionary Kenneth Bae has been held by North Korea for more than a year and has also appeared in a televised event asking for help. Australian John Short was detained last week while in North Korea, according to his wife. North Korea hasn’t yet displayed Mr. Short or mentioned his detention.
North Korea considers proselytization a threat to state stability and imposes harsh penalties on those it accuses of spreading religion. Mr. Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor last year. Other foreign missionaries have reported torture by their captors in North Korea.
In his appearance, Mr. Kim asked for the North Korean regime’s clemency. Video clips of his alleged North Korean co-conspirators’ confessions were played at the event, according to the AP.
Christian missionaries from the South are known for helping North Koreans flee their country but defectors have said some work inside North Korea.
North Korea’s portrayal of Mr. Kim as an agent of South Korea’s spy agency suggests he could face severe punishment, even though inter-Korean relations have eased recently following high-level dialogue between the two sides.
Foreigners who make confessions while in North Korea usually explain later that they were forced.
Merrill E. Newman, an 85-year-old U.S. citizen who was detained briefly by North Korea late last year said his confession made through the North state media was done only “under some duress.” The Korean War veteran was arrested for allegedly seeking to meet up with former anticommunist fighters inside the country.
Write to Jeyup S. Kwaak at jeyup.kwaak@wsj.com

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