N. Korea Detains 2nd American Professor

Kim Hak Song also worked for Pyongyang University of Science and Technology
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 7, 2017 8:43 AM CDT
N. Korea Detains 4th American
This image made from May 21, 2014, video shows a building at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.   (AP Photo)

North Korea has announced it detained another American citizen over unspecified hostile acts against the country, reports the AP. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday that Kim Hak Song had worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology before he was held on Saturday. KCNA claimed that "a relevant institution" was "conducting [a] detailed investigation" of Kim's alleged crimes, reports the BBC.

North Korea on Wednesday announced the detention of an accounting instructor at the same university, Kim Sang Dok, for "acts of hostility aimed at overthrowing the country." The KCNA didn't say whether the two cases are connected. Kim Hak Song is among at least four Americans being detained in North Korea. The US doesn't have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, notes the New York Times, so the Swedish embassy is in charge of Americans' consular affairs. The others are Otto Warmbier, serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged anti-state acts, and Kim Dong Chul, serving a 10-year term with hard labor for alleged espionage. (More North Korea stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X