SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it is expelling American Bruce Byron Lowrance after he slipped unlawfully into the police state known for…
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it is expelling American Bruce Byron Lowrance after he slipped unlawfully into the police state known for its anti-U. S. fervor.
He is believed to be the same person who was deported by South Korea a year ago after being caught wandering near the mine-strewn border with North Korea, looking for a way to cross over.
Sneaking into North Korea has proved to be a powerful temptation for some Americans. Some were driven by religious zeal, others simply were attracted by the mystery of a remote and cloistered country that seems the polar opposite of anything they had experienced.
A look at some of the Americans who have entered North Korea in past decades:
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BRUCE BYRON LOWRANCE
The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Lowrance was detained last month after he entered illegally from the border with China. While it said he entered under the « manipulation » of the CIA, many detained foreigners have said after their release from North Korea that their declarations of guilt were coerced.
North Korea’s decision to deport Lowrance after only a month of confinement would be remarkably quick by Pyongyang’s standards, apparently reflecting an eagerness to keep alive a positive atmosphere for dialogue with the United States.
Washington and Pyongyang have been engaging in talks on the North’s nuclear program since a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U. S. President Donald Trump in June, when they issued vague aspirational goals for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.
In November last year, South Korea said a man matching Lowrance’s name was caught in an area just south of the Demilitarized Zone without approval.
