ICC Note: Kenneth Bae, who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year, said he hopes to “return to his family as soon as possible.” The video, which was almost certainly made under duress, shows Kenneth wearing prison cloths and admitting to committing crimes against the regime. North Korea is the world’s worst persecutor of Christians and has imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Christians over the past 60 years. 
01/20/2014 North Korea (ChicagoTribune) – U.S. missionary Kenneth Bae, imprisoned in reclusive North Korea for more than a year, said on Monday he wants to return to his family as soon as possible and hopes the United States will help, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.
The appeal came after North Korea signaled last week it was prepared to reach out to South Korea if it abandoned military drills with the United States that start next month and as Pyongyang appeared to embark on a charm offensive.
Bae, a 45-year old ethnic Korean, was jailed for 15 years of hard labor for state subversion in North Korea, where he was detained in 2012 while leading a tour group.
North Korea’s Supreme Court said he used his tourism business to form groups aimed at overthrowing the government.
Bae met “a limited number of media outlets” in the North Korean capital Pyongyang and expressed hope of the United States securing his release, Kyodo said. He admitted he had broken North Korean laws.
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An attempt to secure Bae’s release by a U.S. emissary was called off by Pyongyang in August and there has been no official contact between the United States and North Korea since then.
Bae is believed to be in ill-health and led missionary groups into North Korea, according to speeches he made that were posted on the Internet.
North Korea said Bae was plotting to overthrow the state and that his crimes deserved the death penalty.
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