Home »
» Matthew Miller: Trying to get jailed in North Korea
In April 2014, American Matthew Miller travelled to North Korea as a tourist. He damaged his visa on the flight and attempted to claim asylum - and he has now told a specialist website covering North Korea that he did his best to get arrested. Why?
There is a ritual to be gone through when North Korea imprisons the citizens of the United States. They are, after all, behind bars in one of the most despotic countries on the planet where the methods of punishment, as described by a UN inquiry, include "extermination, murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence".
Every US president would move heaven and earth to get the captive freed. Personal envoys get sent - including, in the past, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
But what if the American captive wants to be there? Matthew Miller who was freed on 8 November is proving to be an intriguing case of the man who chose to defect - though he later changed his mind. He sought imprisonment even when the North Koreans wanted to put him straight on a plane to send him home.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
I think it was mistake but it was successful”
Matthew Miller
NK News, a respected website which interviewed Miller over several days by email, paints a picture of a "curious tourist" who went on an extreme holiday. He told the website he wanted to find out what North Korea was like beyond the tourist trail. He said he "just wanted to have a face-to-face with North Koreans to answer my personal questions".
He didn't explain how getting arrested would help him meet North Koreans.
"My main fear was that they would not arrest me when I arrived," he said. As well as damaging his visa, he also produced a set of confused and confusing notes. "I wrote the notebook in China just before going to North Korea," Miller told NK News. The notes said, among other things, that he was a "hacker" intent on "removing the American military from South Korea".
Kenneth Bae is embraced by family members
Fellow American Kenneth Bae was also released, having been held in N Korea since 2012
"Perhaps the notebook was a little too much over the top, they instantly knew it was false and wanted to know my true purpose of visiting." In the interview, Miller also said he told officials he possessed military secrets, and that the North Koreans knew his brother was an F-35 test pilot for the US Air Force but didn't seem to care.
When the North Koreans agreed not to deport him, he was held not in some Stalinist gulag but at a big hotel, and then - admittedly, under lock and key - where a number of other people including fellow American Kenneth Bae were also living. It was only after he was sentenced in September to six years' hard labour that he was transferred to a more conventional prison facility - "kind of a farm place" as he put it, to NK News.
Shortly after the sentencing, a Reuters report revealed that Miller - aged 25, and originally from Bakersfield, California - had an obsession with Alice in Wonderland, the great work of Lewis Carroll, and had spent two years in South Korea. He had an alter ego - Preston Somerset - a name he used when he commissioned art works illustrating scenes from Carroll's book.
"He recruited a gaming programmer to produce music for him, artists to draw men dressed as Cheshire Cats, and a ghostwriter to help piece the whole thing, named 'Alice in Red', together, according to posts on the deviantArt website," Reuters reported.
Miller cited steampunk, a genre of science fiction, as a favourite of his. As well as Lewis Carroll, he also admired George Orwell and Oscar Wilde.
So Miller was immersed in a fantastic underworld, but it's more Mad Hatter's Tea Party than James Bond.
Most Americans who get arrested in North Korea are missionaries who weigh up the risks of spreading Christian belief in an aggressively atheistic state and who get caught - for example Robert Park, who entered North Korea illicitly in December 2009, and was released two months later, protesting he would rather be martyred. He says he was tortured, and continues to suffer serious mental trauma to this day.
line
North Korea's policy on visitors
Chinese tourists walk on the old bomb-damaged Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge which used to lead to the North Korean town of Sinuiju from the Chinese border town of Dandong
Most of the country's tourism comes from neighbouring China
Most travel operators say visas are granted freely to any Westerner who is not a journalist
Tourists' visits very strictly regulated
In 2013, officials loosened some curbs by allowing visitors to bring their mobile phones into North Korea, but mobile phone calls between foreigners and locals are prohibited
line
There has also been at least one case of an American blundering into the country. According to North Korea Travel, which documents arrests of foreigners in the hermit state, Korean-American Evan Hunziker swam across the Yalu river from China in 1996 for a bet and was found drunk and naked by North Korean famers. He was released after his family paid the authorities $5,000 (£3,200).
Miller seems to be in a class of his own.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
I do feel guilt for the crime - it was a crime”
Matthew Miller
He told NK News that he repented his escapade, which came to an end after he appealed for help and the head of the US national intelligence services, James Clapper, arrived in the country to intercede.
"I do feel guilt for the crime. It was a crime. I wasted a lot of time of the North Koreans and the Americans," he said.
On the other hand, he said, he spent five months have conversations "with various people" and did achieve his goal of seeing more of North Korea.
"I think it was a mistake, but it was successful."
It was, in a way, a trip to Wonderland - though not the kind most travellers would want.
line
More from the Magazine
North Koreans visit Kumsusan Palace
North Koreans visit Kumsusan Palace, where Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-Il are both enshrined
North Korea is a difficult place for journalists to visit, but tourists are welcome so long as they do what they are told. In 2013, Juliet Rix found an organised tour allowed her a glimpse of daily life under the secretive regime.
Sponsored Link :
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di bekasi
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Jakarta
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Surabaya
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Lampung
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Depok
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Bogor
Jual Obat Herbal Diabetes murah di Tangerang
#di Kabupaten Aceh Barat Daya, #di Kabupaten Aceh Barat, #di Kabupaten Aceh Besar, #di Kabupaten Aceh Jaya, #di Kabupaten Aceh Selatan, #di Kabupaten Aceh Singkil, #di Kabupaten Aceh Tamiang, #di Kabupaten Aceh Tengah, #di Kabupaten Aceh Tenggara, #di Kabupaten Aceh Timur, #di Kabupaten Aceh Utara, #di Kabupaten Agam, #di Kabupaten Alor, #di Kabupaten Asahan, #di Kabupaten Asmat, #di Kabupaten Badung, #di Kabupaten Balangan, #di Kabupaten Bandung Barat, #di Kabupaten Bandung, #di Kabupaten Banggai Kepulauan, #di Kabupaten Banggai, #di Kabupaten Bangka Barat, #di Kabupaten Bangka Selatan, #di Kabupaten Bangka Tengah, #di Kabupaten Bangka, #di Kabupaten Bangkalan, #di Kabupaten Bangli, #di Kabupaten Banjar, #di Kabupaten Banjarnegara, #di Kabupaten Bantaeng, #di Kabupaten Bantul, #di Kabupaten Banyuasin, #di Kabupaten Banyumas, #di Kabupaten Banyuwangi, #di Kabupaten Barito Kuala, #di Kabupaten Barito Selatan, #di Kabupaten Barito Timur, #di Kabupaten Barito Utara, #di Kabupaten Barru, #di Kabupaten Batang, #di Kabupaten Batanghari, #di Kabupaten Batubara, #di Kabupaten Bekasi, #di Kabupaten Belitung Timur, #di Kabupaten Belitung, #di Kabupaten Belu, #di Kabupaten Bener Meriah, #di Kabupaten Bengkalis, #di Kabupaten Bengkayang, #di Kabupaten Bengkulu Selatan, #di Kabupaten Bengkulu Tengah, #di Kabupaten Bengkulu Utara, #di Kabupaten Berau, #di Kabupaten Biak Numfor, #di Kabupaten Bima, #di Kabupaten Bintan, #di Kabupaten Bireuen, #di Kabupaten Blitar, #di Kabupaten Blora,#di Kabupaten Boalemo, #di Kabupaten Bogor, #di Kabupaten Bojonegoro, #di Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow Selatan, #di Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow Timur, #di Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow Utara, #di Kabupaten Bolaang Mongondow, #di Kabupaten Bombana, #di Kabupaten Bondowoso, #di Kabupaten Bone Bolango, #di Kabupaten Bone, #di Kabupaten Boven #di goel, #di Kabupaten Boyolali, #di Kabupaten Brebes, #di Kabupaten Buleleng, #di Kabupaten Bulukumba, #di Kabupaten Bulungan, #di Kabupaten Bungo, #di Kabupaten Buol, #di Kabupaten Buru Selatan, #di Kabupaten Buru, #di Kabupaten Buton Utara, #di Kabupaten Buton, #di Kabupaten Ciamis, #di Kabupaten Cianjur, #di Kabupaten Cilacap, #di Kabupaten Cirebon, #di Kabupaten Dairi, #di Kabupaten Deiyai, #di Kabupaten Deli Serdang, #di Kabupaten Demak, #di Kabupaten Dharmasraya, #di Kabupaten Dogiyai, #di Kabupaten Dompu, #di Kabupaten Donggala, #di Kabupaten Empat Lawang, #di Kabupaten Ende, #di Kabupaten Enrekang, #di Kabupaten Fakfak, #di Kabupaten Flores Timur, #di Kabupaten Garut, #di Kabupaten Gayo Lues, #di Kabupaten Gianyar, #di Kabupaten Gorontalo Utara, #di Kabupaten Gorontalo, #di Kabupaten Gowa, #di Kabupaten Gresik, #di Kabupaten Grobogan, #di Kabupaten Gunung Kidul, #di Kabupaten Gunung Mas, #di Kabupaten Halmahera Barat, #di Kabupaten Halmahera Selatan, #di Kabupaten Halmahera Tengah, #di Kabupaten Halmahera Timur, #di Kabupaten Halmahera Utara, #di Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Selatan, #di Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Tengah, #di Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Utara, #di Kabupaten Humbang Hasundutan, #di Kabupaten Indragiri Hilir, #di Kabupaten Indragiri Hulu, #di Kabupaten Indramayu, #di Kabupaten Intan Jaya, #di Kabupaten Jayapura, #di Kabupaten Jayawijaya, #di Kabupaten Jember, #di Kabupaten Jembrana, #di Kabupaten Jeneponto, #di Kabupaten Jepara, #di Kabupaten Jombang, #di Kabupaten Kaimana, #di Kabupaten Kampar, #di Kabupaten Kapuas Hulu, #di Kabupaten Kapuas, #di Kabupaten Karanganyar, #di Kabupaten Karangasem, #di Kabupaten Karawang, #di Kabupaten Karimun, #di Kabupaten Karo, #di Kabupaten Katingan, #di Kabupaten Kaur, #di Kabupaten Kayong Utara, #di Kabupaten Kebumen, #di Kabupaten Ke#di ri, #di Kabupaten Keerom, #di Kabupaten Kendal, #di Kabupaten Kepahiang, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Anambas, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Mentawai, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Meranti, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Sangihe, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Selayar, #di Kabupaten Administrasi Kepulauan Seribu, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Siau Tagulandang Biaro, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Sula, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Talaud, #di Kabupaten Kepulauan Yapen, #di Kabupaten Kerinci, #di Kabupaten Ketapang, #di Kabupaten Klaten, #di Kabupaten Klungkung, #di Kabupaten Kolaka Utara, #di Kabupaten Kolaka, #di Kabupaten Konawe Selatan, #di Kabupaten Konawe Utara, #di Kabupaten Konawe,#di Kabupaten Kotabaru, #di Kabupaten Kotawaringin Barat, #di Kabupaten Kotawaringin Timur, #di Kabupaten Kuantan Singingi, #di Kabupaten Kubu Raya, #di Kabupaten Kudus, #di Kabupaten Kulon Progo, #di Kabupaten Kuningan, #di Kabupaten Kupang, #di Kabupaten Kutai Barat, #di Kabupaten Kutai Kartanegara, #di Kabupaten Kutai Timur, #di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu Selatan, #di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu Utara, #di Kabupaten Labuhanbatu, #di Kabupaten Lahat, #di Kabupaten Lamandau, #di Kabupaten Lamongan, #di Kabupaten Lampung Barat, #di Kabupaten Lampung Selatan, #di Kabupaten Lampung Tengah, #di Kabupaten Lampung Timur, #di Kabupaten Lampung Utara, #di Kabupaten Landak, #di Kabupaten Langkat, #di Kabupaten Lanny Jaya, #di Kabupaten Lebak, #di Kabupaten Lebong, #di Kabupaten Lembata, #di Kabupaten Lima Puluh Kota, #di Kabupaten Lingga, #di Kabupaten Lombok Barat, #di Kabupaten Lombok Tengah, #di Kabupaten Lombok Timur, #di Kabupaten Lombok Utara, #di Kabupaten Lumajang, #di Kabupaten Luwu Timur, #di Kabupaten Luwu Utara, #di Kabupaten Luwu, #di Kabupaten Ma#di un, #di Kabupaten Magelang, #di Kabupaten Mahakam Ulu, #di Kabupaten Majalengka, #di Kabupaten Majalengka, #di Kabupaten Majene, #di Kabupaten Malang, #di Kabupaten Malinau, #di Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya, #di Kabupaten Maluku Tengah, #di Kabupaten Maluku Tenggara Barat, #di Kabupaten Maluku Tenggara, #di Kabupaten Mamasa, #di Kabupaten Mamberamo Raya, #di Kabupaten Mamberamo Tengah, #di Kabupaten Mamuju Utara, #di Kabupaten Mamuju, #di Kabupaten Mandailing Natal, #di Kabupaten Manggarai Barat, #di Kabupaten Manggarai Timur, #di Kabupaten Manggarai, #di Kabupaten Manokwari, #di Kabupaten Mappi, #di Kabupaten Maros, #di Kabupaten Maybrat, #di Kabupaten Melawi, #di Kabupaten Merangin, #di Kabupaten Merauke, #di Kabupaten Mesuji, #di Kabupaten Mimika, #di Kabupaten Minahasa Selatan, #di Kabupaten Minahasa Tenggara, #di Kabupaten Minahasa Utara, #di Kabupaten Minahasa, #di Kabupaten Mojokerto, #di Kabupaten Morowali, #di Kabupaten Muara Enim,#di Kabupaten Muaro Jambi, #di Kabupaten Mukomuko, #di Kabupaten Muna, #di Kabupaten Murung Raya, #di Kabupaten Musi Banyuasin, #di Kabupaten Musi Rawas, #di Kabupaten Nabire, #di Kabupaten Nagan Raya, #di Kabupaten Nagekeo, #di Kabupaten Natuna, #di Kabupaten Nduga, #di Kabupaten Ngada, #di Kabupaten Nganjuk, #di Kabupaten Ngawi, #di Kabupaten Nias Barat, #di Kabupaten Nias Selatan, #di Kabupaten Nias Utara, #di Kabupaten Nias, #di Kabupaten Nunukan, #di Kabupaten Ogan Ilir, #di Kabupaten Ogan Komering Ilir, #di Kabupaten Ogan Komering Ulu Selatan, #di Kabupaten Ogan Komering Ulu Timur, #di Kabupaten Ogan Komering Ulu, #di Kabupaten Pacitan, #di Kabupaten Padang Lawas Utara, #di Kabupaten Padang Lawas, #di Kabupaten Padang Pariaman, #di Kabupaten Pakpak Bharat, #di Kabupaten Pamekasan, #di Kabupaten Pandeglang, #di Kabupaten Pangkajene dan Kepulauan, #di Kabupaten Paniai, #di Kabupaten Parigi Moutong, #di Kabupaten Pasaman Barat, #di Kabupaten Pasaman, #di Kabupaten Paser, #di Kabupaten Pasuruan, #di Kabupaten Pati, #di Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang, #di Kabupaten Pekalongan, #di Kabupaten Pelalawan, #di Kabupaten Pemalang, #di Kabupaten Penajam Paser Utara, #di Kabupaten Pesawaran, #di Kabupaten Pesisir Selatan, #di Kabupaten Pi#di e Jaya, #di Kabupaten Pi#di e, #di Kabupaten Pinrang, #di Kabupaten Pohuwato, #di Kabupaten Polewali Mandar, #di Kabupaten Ponorogo, #di Kabupaten Mempawah, #di Kabupaten Poso, #di Kabupaten Pringsewu, #di Kabupaten Probolinggo, #di Kabupaten Pulang Pisau, #di Kabupaten Pulau Morotai, #di Kabupaten Puncak Jaya, #di Kabupaten Puncak, #di Kabupaten Purbalingga, #di Kabupaten Purwakarta, #di Kabupaten Purworejo, #di Kabupaten Raja Ampat, #di Kabupaten Rejang Lebong, #di Kabupaten Rembang, #di Kabupaten Rokan Hilir, #di Kabupaten Rokan Hulu, #di Kabupaten Rote Ndao, #di Kabupaten Sabu Raijua, #di Kabupaten Sambas, #di Kabupaten Samosir, #di Kabupaten Sampang, #di Kabupaten Sanggau, #di Kabupaten Sarmi, #di Kabupaten Sarolangun, #di Kabupaten Sekadau, #di Kabupaten Seluma, #di Kabupaten Semarang, #di Kabupaten Seram Bagian Barat, #di Kabupaten Seram Bagian Timur, #di Kabupaten Serang, #di Kabupaten Serdang Bedagai, #di Kabupaten Seruyan, #di Kabupaten Siak, #di Kabupaten Sidenreng Rappang, #di Kabupaten Sidoarjo, #di Kabupaten Sigi, #di Kabupaten Sijunjung, #di Kabupaten Sikka, #di Kabupaten Simalungun, #di Kabupaten Simeulue, #di Kabupaten Sinjai, #di Kabupaten Sintang, #di Kabupaten Situbondo, #di Kabupaten Sleman, #di Kabupaten Solok Selatan, #di Kabupaten Solok, #di Kabupaten Soppeng, #di Kabupaten Sorong Selatan, #di Kabupaten Sorong, #di Kabupaten Sragen, #di Kabupaten Subang, #di Kabupaten Sukabumi, #di Kabupaten Sukamara, #di Kabupaten Sukoharjo, #di Kabupaten Sumba Barat Daya, #di Kabupaten Sumba Barat, #di Kabupaten Sumba Tengah, #di Kabupaten Sumba Timur, #di Kabupaten Sumbawa Barat, #di Kabupaten Sumbawa, #di Kabupaten Sumedang, #di Kabupaten Sumenep, #di Kabupaten Supiori, #di Kabupaten Tabalong, #di Kabupaten Tabanan, #di Kabupaten Takalar, #di Kabupaten Tambrauw, #di Kabupaten Tana Tidung, #di Kabupaten Tana Toraja, #di Kabupaten Tanah Bumbu, #di Kabupaten Tanah Datar, #di Kabupaten Tanah Laut, #di Kabupaten Tangerang, #di Kabupaten Tanggamus, #di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Barat, #di Kabupaten Tanjung Jabung Timur, #di Kabupaten Tapanuli Selatan, #di Kabupaten Tapanuli Tengah, #di Kabupaten Tapanuli Utara, #di Kabupaten Tapin, #di Kabupaten Tasikmalaya, #di Kabupaten Tebo, #di Kabupaten Tegal, #di Kabupaten Teluk Bintuni, #di Kabupaten Teluk Wondama, #di Kabupaten Temanggung, #di Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan, #di Kabupaten Timor Tengah Utara, #di Kabupaten Toba Samosir, #di Kabupaten Tojo Una-Una, #di Kabupaten Toli-Toli, #di Kabupaten Tolikara, #di Kabupaten Toraja Utara, #di Kabupaten Trenggalek, #di Kabupaten Tuban, #di Kabupaten Tulang Bawang Barat, #di Kabupaten Tulang Bawang, #di Kabupaten Tulungagung, i Kabupaten Wajo, #di Kabupaten Wakatobi, #di Kabupaten Waropen, #di Kabupaten Way Kanan, #di Kabupaten Wonogiri, #di Kabupaten Wonosobo, #di Kabupaten Yahukimo, #di Kabupaten Yalimo, #di Kota Ambon, #di Kota Balikpapan, #di Kota Banda Aceh, #di Kota Bandar Lampung, #di Kota Bandung, #di Kota Banjar, #di Kota Banjarbaru, #di Kota Banjarmasin, #di Kota Batam, #di Kota Batu, #di Kota Bau-Bau, #di Kota Bekasi, #di Kota Bengkulu, #di Kota Bima, #di Kota Binjai, #di Kota Bitung, #di Kota Blitar, #di Kota Bogor, #di Kota Bontang, #di Kota Bukittinggi, #di Kota Cilegon, #di Kota Cimahi, #di Kota Cirebon, #di Kota Denpasar, #di Kota Depok, #di Kota Dumai, #di Kota Gorontalo, #di Kota Gunungsitoli, #di Kota Administrasi Jakarta Barat, #di Kota Administrasi Jakarta Pusat, #di Kota Administrasi Jakarta Selatan, #di Kota Administrasi Jakarta Timur, #di Kota Administrasi Jakarta Utara, #di Kota Jambi, #di Kota Jayapura, #di Kota Ke#diri, #di Kota Kendari, #di Kota Kotamobagu, #di Kota Kupang, #di Kota Langsa, #di Kota Lhokseumawe, #di Kota Lubuklinggau, #di Kota Ma#di un, #di Kota Magelang, #di Kota Makassar, #di Kota Malang, #di Kota Manado, #di Kota Mataram, #di Kota Medan, #di Kota Metro, #di Kota Mojokerto, #di Kota Padang, #di Kota Padangpa jang,#di Kota Padangsidempuan, #di Kota Pagar Alam, #di Kota Palangka Raya, #di Kota Palembang, #di Kota Palopo, #di Kota Palu, #di Kota Pangkal Pinang, #di Kota Parepare, #di Kota Pariaman, #di Kota Pasuruan, #di Kota Payakumbuh, #di Kota Pekalongan, #di Kota Pekanbaru, #di Kota Pematangsiantar, #di Kota Pontianak, #di Kota Prabumulih, #di Kota Probolinggo, #di Kota Sabang, #di Kota Salatiga, #di Kota Samarinda, #di Kota Sawahlunto, #di Kota Semarang, #di Kota Serang, #di Kota Sibolga, #di Kota Singkawang, #di Kota Solok, #di Kota Sorong, #di Kota Subulussalam, #di Kota Sukabumi, #di Kota Sungai Penuh, #di Kota Surabaya, #di Kota Surakarta, #di Kota Tangerang Selatan, #di Kota Tangerang, #di Kota Tanjung Pinang, #di Kota Tanjungbalai, #di Kota Tarakan, #di Kota Tasikmalaya, #di Kota Tebing Tinggi, #di Kota Tegal, #di Kota Ternate, #di Kota Tidore Kepulauan, #di Kota Tomohon, #di Kota Tual, #di Kota Yogyakarta
Anda baru saja membaca artikel dengan judul
Sang MIO (Mashter Iklan Online) | Paket Iklan BARIS Super Premium
BACA ARTIKEL TERKAIT LAINNYA :
In April 2014, American Matthew Miller travelled to North Korea as a tourist. He damaged his visa on the flight and attempted to claim asylum - and he has now told a specialist website covering North Korea that he did his best to get arrested. Why?
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar
Catatan: Hanya anggota dari blog ini yang dapat mengirim komentar.