ICC Note: Nearly two weeks after the conclusion of a visit by his mother, Kenneth Bae remains locked up in North Korea. A U.S. citizen and dedicated missionary, Kenneth was detained by North Korean officials late last year and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly attempting “hostile acts” and trying to overthrow the authoritarian regime. Kenneth’s mother, Myunghee Bae, pleaded with officials to release her son and apologized on behalf of the family for any wrong he may have committed. In North Korea, Christianity is completely repressed. The ownership of a Bible is punishable by life in prison for the owner and up to three generations of the owners family. 
10/28/2013 North Korea (CSW) – Bae Myung-hee, mother of jailed Christian and US citizen Kenneth Bae, is reportedly “more anxious then ever” after visiting him in his North Korean prison.
Kenneth Bae had been sentenced to 15 years’ hard labour last year but was hospitalised when his health deteriorated after three months, during which he lost 23 kg. He suffers from diabetes, an enlarged heart, gallstones, back and neck pains, and high cholesterol.
Myung-hee was granted a five-day visa to North Korea during which she managed to see her son three times for a total of six hours.
In a written statement released after the visit, Myung-hee said, “he’s being treated very fairly …. He was taken to a special labour camp, so he was the only prisoner, and a whole lot of people have to stay with him, guards and doctors.” However, she added, “My worst fear is to send him back to the labour camp because his health seems a little bit improved, that’s my worst fear. Because I don’t think his body can endure eight hours’ labour a day, six days a week.”
Despite requests to plead her son’s case directly to North Korean officials, Myung-hee was unable to meet with them, settling instead to submit the following written message: “Please give him mercy and give him amnesty to send him home. We apologise as a family on his behalf, but his health cannot sustain any longer if he is sent back to the labour camp again.”
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