My comment:  Pray for this man and the people of North Korea, they are continuosly subjected to persecution, starvation and human rights abuses.

North Korea said Saturday that it would put a United States citizen on trial for trying to overthrow the communist regime, amid soaring tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Pae Jun-Ho had admitted to the charges and would soon face “judgment”, according to the AFP news agency.

The announcement follows a months-long standoff on the Korean peninsula stoked by the North’s nuclear test in February, which prompted the UN Security Council to impose fresh sanctions.

Pae, who is believed to be a Korean-American tour operator, was arrested in November as he entered the northeastern port city of Rason.

KCNA said a “preliminary inquiry” had been completed.

“He admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) with hostility toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence.

“He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgment,” according to the report, which did not say what the charges were based on.

Seoul-based activist Do Hee-Yoon told AFP that he suspected Pae was arrested because he had taken photographs of emaciated children in North Korea as part of efforts to appeal for more outside aid for them.

The North’s announcement came hours before US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns met South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se for talks in Seoul. The US diplomat did not publicly comment on the trial.

In Washington, the State Department said it was “aware of reports that a US citizen will face trial in North Korea” and was working in “close coordination” with representatives from the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang

“Welfare of US citizens overseas is a critical priority of the Department of State,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, adding that, “The Embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang visited the US citizen on Friday, April 26.”

The statement, which said the department had no additional information to share at this time, did not name Pae.

Several Americans have been held in North Korea in recent years.

Read The Rest via Israel National News.

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