American citizen jailed for ten years with hard labour for spying in North Korea

An American citizen has been convicted of spying in North Korea and stealing state secrets. Korean-born Kim Dong-Chul was sentenced to ten years in prison with hard labour after a brief trial in the capital Pyongyang. The 62-year-old, who became a US citizen in 1987, was arrested in October as he allegedly receieved a USB stick containing nuclear-linked data and other military information from his source. He was also accused of carrying out “reactionary propaganda” against North Korea.

(He) injected into local people fantasies about the superiority of the United States, in order to shake the stability of the political and social system

China’s official Xinhua news agency

Kim was paraded in front of reporters in Pyongyang a month ago, when he admitted to stealing military secrets and pleaded for clemency. On Friday, he became the second US national in six weeks to be jailed by Kim Jong-Un’s regime. Last month, Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate student, was convicted and sentenced in a one-hour trial at the North’s Supreme Court, charged with subversion. He was jailed for 15 years in prison with hard labour after admitting stealing propaganda material.

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