North Korea Holding 4th US Citizen in Detention

 

North Korean media says the government is holding another United States citizen.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Kim Hak Song was detained on Saturday for suspected “hostile acts.”

Kim worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. He is the second university instructor¹ to be arrested in the past two months.

Last month, North Korean officials detained Pyongyang University accounting² professor Kim Sang Dok. The government said he was arrested for “committing criminal acts. He was accused of “acts of hostility³ aimed to overturn” the rule of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it knows about the latest detention⁴. It said “The security of U.S. citizens is one of the department’s highest priorities. When a U.S. citizen is reported to be detained in North Korea, we work with the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang” to try to secure their freedom.

Kim’s detention comes as tensions between the two countries increase over North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs. The United States has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to waters off the Korean coast as a warning to North Korea to cut back on its military activities.

In the past, North Korea has detained U.S. citizens to use as bargaining chips in negotiations⁵ with the U.S. government.

Last year, North Korea sentenced Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, to 15 years of hard labor⁶. The sentence was announced after he admitted he tried to steal a propaganda sign.

And Kim Dong Chul is serving 10 years of hard labor after being jailed on subversion⁷ charges. Kim was born in South Korea, but is believed to have U.S. citizenship⁸.

Words in this Story

bargaining chip – n. something that can be used when you are trying to make a deal

priorities – n. goals or objectives; the things that someone cares about and thinks are important

instructor – n. someone who teaches, like a college teacher

1 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

2 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

3 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

4 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

5 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。