Detained U.S. citizen says he deliberately left Bible in N. Korea

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. citizen released from North Korea after five months of detention admitted Friday that he deliberately left a Bible at a nightclub in the communist nation to help the Christians there.

Jeffrey Edward Fowle, who was detained on May 7 and released on Oct. 22, said in an interview with the Dayton Daily News that he had planned to leave the Bible in North Korea even long before he even traveled to the country.

Christian proselytizing is considered a crime in North Korea.

Fowle was quoted as saying that his trip was not necessarily aimed at proselytizing, but he added that he was driven by his "strong motivation to help the Christians" in the area.

"In hindsight, I would not do it again," he was quoted as saying Friday.

Fowle also told NBC News that while detained, he passed the time by writing letters to his family and watching North Korean state TV. He also said that he was treated relatively well and was given hearty meals of rice, meat and vegetables.

Fowle had been one of three American citizens detained in the North.

The two others still detained there are Matthew Todd Miller, who was sentenced to six years of hard labor for committing "hostile" acts, and Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary who was detained in late 2012 and has since been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for unspecified anti-state crimes.

North Korea said leader Kim Jong-un made the decision to free Fowle after repeated requests from U.S. President Barack Obama. But many analysts see the move as Pyongyang's attempt to improve its image amid international attention on its human rights record.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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