WASHINGTON — The family of an American held by North Korea on Wednesday pleaded for his freedom, saying that he was in uncertain health after five months detention and may not survive a trial.
Breaking its silence with an open letter to the communist regime, the family of the man it identified as Eddie Yong Su Jun said that it was "extremely concerned about his very sensitive health condition."
"Though we are aware that the DPRK has a judicial system different from that of the US, we strongly doubt that our father's health can withstand the stress of a trial or further detainment," the letter said, using the official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"Eddie Jun is a devoted, loving husband and father and we are very anxious to be reunited with him. We appeal to you for compassion so that our father and husband can safely return home to his family," it said.
The family released the letter to CNN television. State Department officials confirmed the letter's authenticity.
"We reiterate our call on the DPRK to release the US citizen immediately on humanitarian grounds," a State Department spokesperson said.
North Korea said earlier this month that it would charge the American for crimes against the nation and that he admitted his crime.
A source in Seoul familiar with North Korean affairs said he was detained for missionary work.
The Korean-American, who attends a church in Orange County, California, traveled frequently to the North as a businessman but then served as a missionary, the source said.
It was the third apparent case in less than a year of a US Christian activist being detained in the North. Rights groups say Pyongyang severely restricts freedom of religion.
The family made the appeal as former US president Jimmy Carter was visiting North Korea, leading a group of elder statesmen who are seeking to ease longstanding tensions with the North. Carter helped free a previous detainee.
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