List of foreign nationals detained in North Korea

This is a list of foreign nationals who have been detained in North Korea. Excluded from the list are any persons who were detained while on active military duty and held as prisoners of war or military defectors. Also excluded are people abducted in other countries and brought into North Korea.

Detained Australians

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Reason for detention	Ref.
John Short	16 February 2014	3 March 2014	15	Unauthorized religious activity	[1]
Alek Sigley	25 June 2019	4 July 2019	9	Espionage, was arrested while studying in Pyongyang.[2][3] After negotiations through the Swedish embassy in North Korea, he was released.[4]	[5][6]

Detained South Korean citizens

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Reason for detention	Ref.
Min Young Mi	20 June 1999	25 June 1999	5	"Preaching defection". Detained after conversing with a North Korean tour guide.	[7][8]
Kim Jung Wook (alternative spelling: Kim Jong Uk)[9]	8 October 2013	In detention	4,111	Unknown, possibly connected with Christian missionary work. Alleged activities as a "South Korean National Intelligence Service agent".	[10][11]
Joo Won Moon	22 April 2015	5 October 2015	166	Illegally entering North Korea via China	[12]
Kim Kook Kie	June 2015	In detention	3,503	Committing "anti-DPRK espionage activities under the manipulation of the U.S. and puppet South Korea"	[10]
Choi Chun Kil	June 2015	In detention	3,503	Committing "anti-DPRK espionage activities under the manipulation of the U.S. and puppet South Korea"	[10]
Ko Hyon Chol	July 2016	In detention	3,107	Alleged kidnapping of orphans	[10]

Detained U.S. citizens

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Reason for detention	Ref.
Evan Hunziker	24 August 1996	27 November 1996	95	Illegally entering North Korea	[13]
Kwang Duk Lee	26 May 1998	27 August 1998	93	Espionage	[14]
Karen Jung-sook Han	17 June 1999	20 July 1999	33	Committing "an illegal act". Was accused of insulting local officials.	[15]
Euna Lee	17 March 2009	4 August 2009	140	Illegally entering North Korea (see 2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea)	[16]
Laura Ling					[16]
Robert Park	25 December 2009	6 February 2010	43	Illegally entering North Korea	[17]
Aijalon Gomes	25 January 2010	26 August 2010	213	Illegally entering North Korea	[18]
Eddie Yong Su Jun	November 2010	28 May 2011	~208	"Committing a crime" against North Korea	[19]
Kenneth Bae	3 November 2012	8 November 2014	735	Unauthorized religious activity	[20][21][22]
Merrill Newman	26 October 2013	7 December 2013	42	Issues related to his service in the Korean War	[23]
Matthew Miller	10 April 2014	8 November 2014	212	Acts hostile to the DPRK while entering under the guise of a tourist.[24] He had travelled to North Korea intending to get arrested.[25]	[21][22][26]
Jeffrey Fowle	4 May 2014	21 October 2014	170	Acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism" by leaving a Bible at a nightclub	[27][28]
Arturo Pierre Martinez	10 November 2014	December 2014	~21	Illegally entering North Korea	[29]
Sandra Suh	8 April 2015	8 April 2015	0	Deported for "covertly producing photos and videos to use in the anti-DPRK smear campaign"	[30][31]
Miles, no surname given	13 August 2015	October 2015	~49	Illegally entering North Korea. Previously sought legal long-term residence. Story initially went unreported, but was later verified and broken by NK News on condition of anonymity.	[32]
Kim Dong Chul	October 2015	9 May 2018	952	Espionage	[33] [34][35]
Otto Warmbier	2 January 2016	13 June 2017[a]	529	Committing "hostile acts" against the DPRK by allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel. Released back in a vegetative state, later succumbing to injuries inflicted from "severe brain damage".[36]	[37]
Kim Sang-duk (Tony Kim)	21 April 2017	9 May 2018	384	Committing "hostile criminal acts with an aim to subvert the country"	[34][38][39][40]
Kim Hak-song	7 May 2017	9 May 2018	368	Committing "hostile acts" against the state	[41][42]
Bruce Byron Lowrance[b]	16 October 2018	16 November 2018	31	Illegally entering North Korea via China	[43][44]

Other detained foreign citizens

Name	Country	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Reason for detention	Ref.
Alí Lameda⠀	Venezuela	September 1967	27 September 1974	~2,555	Communist and translator working in the Foreign Affairs Ministry of North Korea, reportedly for joking about Kim Il-sung at an official feast. In a 1975 interview, Lameda expressed that his detention could have been a result of pressure by the Communist Party of Cuba after the Communist Party of Venezuela decided to accept pacification and abandon arms.	[45][46]
Eduardo Murillo	Chile	September 1967	May 1968	~-243	Same background as Ali Lameda, see above	[47]
Hyeon Soo Lim	Canada	February 2015	9 August 2017	~920	"Harming the dignity of the supreme leadership, trying to use religion to destroy the North Korean system"	[48]
Jacques Sedillot	France	September 1967	27 September 1974	~2,555	Same background as Ali Lameda, see above	[45][46]

See also

• North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens
• North Korean abductions of South Koreans
• China–North Korea border
• Travis King
• David Louis Sneddon

Notes

1. Warmbier died six days after being released.
2. Lowrance's surname was misspelled and transposed in some news reports.

References

1. "Australian missionary deported from North Korea describes 13-day detention". The Guardian. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
2. Petrov, Leonid (6 July 2019), Luck had nothing to do with Alek Sigley's escape from North Korea, Sydney, Australia: The Sydney Morning Herald, retrieved 10 July 2019
3. Taylor, Paige (4 July 2019), Missing Australian student Alek Sigley freed from detention in North Korea, now safe and out of country, Australia: The Australian, retrieved 10 July 2019
4. Australia warns released student Alek Sigley not to return to North Korea, Singapore: The Straits Times, 5 July 2019, retrieved 10 July 2019
5. "Alek Sigley: Australian student released from North Korea". The Guardian. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
6. "Alek Sigley: North Korea accuses Australian of 'spying'". BBC. 6 July 2019.
7. "Korean tourist released by North". BBC News. 25 June 1999.
8. "Mt. Kumgang tour must not be used for anti-north purpose". KCNA. 25 June 1999 – via KCNA Watch.
9. "South Korean missionary sentenced to life of hard labour by North Korea". the Guardian. Associated Press. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
10. Han, Tia (8 March 2018). "North Korea "irresponsive" on six South Koreans detained in DPRK, says MOU". NK News.
11. "KIM JONG UK". Church in Chains. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
12. Hensley, Nicole (5 October 2015). "North Korea releases detained NYU student Joo Won-Moon: Seoul officials". New York Daily News.
13. "Jailed American Arrives Home For Thanksgiving - North Korea Frees Washington Man". The Seattle Times. 27 November 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
14. Mozingo, Joe (1 September 1998). "Freed Pastor Home After Ordeal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
15. "North Korea to deport US prisoner". BBC News. 19 July 1999. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
16. "Ling Sisters Recount Laura's Capture In North Korea". National Public Radio. 19 May 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
17. Gabbatt, Adam (7 February 2010). "US human rights campaigner freed by North Korea returns home". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
18. "American freed by North Korea arrives back in US". BBC News. 27 August 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
19. "N Korea 'to release US citizen Eddie Jun Yong-su'". BBC News. 27 May 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
20. Bright, Arthur (10 May 2013). "North Korea explains why it sentenced American Kenneth Bae to hard labor". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
21. Botelho, Greg; Ripley, Will; Almasy, Steve (8 November 2014). "Two Americans freed by North Korea flying to U.S. base". CNN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
22. Adams, Sabrina (8 November 2014). "North Korea releases American detainees Bae, Miller". fox59.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
23. "US war veteran Merrill Newman home after N Korea ordeal". BBC News. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
24. Fifield, Anna (14 September 2014). "North Korea sentences American Matthew Miller to 6 years of hard labor". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
25. Evans, Stephen (17 November 2014). "Matthew Miller: Trying to get jailed in North Korea". BBC News. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
26. Ferguson, Carol (2 July 2014). "Bakersfield man held in North Korea, US officials request release". KBAK-TV/KBFX-CD. Bakersfield, Ca. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
27. Labott, Elise (21 October 2014). "American released from North Korea". CNN. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
28. Roberts, Dan (22 October 2014). "North Korea releases American Jeffrey Fowle, US confirms". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
29. Rohrlich, Justin (11 April 2016). "Exclusive: American 'defector' home safely from North Korea". NK News. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
30. "Aid worker deported from North Korea on spying charges arrives in China". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
31. "American expelled for anti-DPRK propaganda". The Pyongyang Times. 13 April 2015.
32. O'Carroll, Chad; Hotham, Oliver (24 December 2019). "U.S. citizen says he snuck into North Korea, was imprisoned in 2015". NK News. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
33. Ripley, Will; Griffiths, James (22 January 2016). "North Korea reveals alleged U.S. prisoner to CNN". CNN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
34. Paul, Pritha (1 May 2018). "North Korea Releases 3 US Detainees From Labor Camps, Negotiating Return". ibtimes.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
35. Calia, Mike (9 May 2018). "Trump: Secretary of State Pompeo heading back from North Korea with 3 released prisoners". CNBC. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
36. Clark, Doug Bock (23 July 2018). "The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage". gq.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
37. Pearson, James; Park, Ju-Min (22 January 2016). "North Korea detains U.S. student on New Year trip for 'hostile act'". Retrieved 12 October 2024.
38. Pearson, James (23 April 2017). "North Korea detains third U.S. citizen". Retrieved 12 October 2024.
39. Park, Ju-min (3 May 2017). "North Korea says American was detained for 'attempted subversion'". reuters.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
40. Sang-Hun, Chloe (9 May 2018). "3 Americans Are Released From North Korea, Trump Says". todayonline.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
41. Lee, Taehoon (8 May 2017). "North Korea detains fourth US citizen". CNN. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
42. Chappell, Bill; Domonoske, Camila (9 May 2018). "North Korea Releases 3 Americans As Pompeo's Visit Concludes". NPR. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
43. Kim, Tong-Hyung (17 November 2018). "A look at Americans who have been detained in North Korea". AP News. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
44. Gallagher, Linda (21 November 2018). "Central Lake man released from North Korean prison". The Antrim Review. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
45. "Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Ali Lameda: A personal account of the experience of a Prisoner of Conscience in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". Amnesty International. 1979. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
46. Socorro, Milagros (10 January 2015). "Alí Lameda, tortura terrible". El Estimulo. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
47. "Un chileno en el infierno norcoreano". Radio Pauta 100.5 (in Spanish). 8 June 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
48. "North Korea releases imprisoned Canadian pastor, state media says". CBC News. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.