“We urge the DPRK [North Korea] to grant Mr Bae amnesty,” a US State Department spokesman said, according to BBC News.
The sentencing of Bae, a 44-year-old tour operator based in Washington state, occurred after he was convicted Tuesday by North Korea’s highest court, state news agency Korean Central News Agency reported in a brief dispatch Thursday.
He may have been arrested for taking pictures of starving children, but that has not been confirmed yet.
The Associated Press news agency also reports that he is described by friends as a devout Christian.
Sweden, which represents the U.S. in North Korea in the absence of diplomatic ties, had helped to provide counsel to Mr Pae, reports said.
The Atlantic provides a comprehensive timeline of Bae’s ordeal with North Korean authorities.
Bae is at least the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009, and his punishment was the most severe. The others eventually were deported or released, as the New York Times informs us.
The Times adds it’s a tense year between the U.S. and North Korea: “The United States and South Korea have tried to remain firm on North Korea and tighten sanctions until it abandons its nuclear program. But the North has sounded equally determined to force the rest of the world to accept it as a nuclear weapons state.”
