North Korea sentences American to 10 years hard labor
- 8 years ago
North Korea sentenced a South Korean-born American citizen to 10 years of hard labor for subversion and espionage.
Prosecutors originally sought 15 years for Kim Jong Chul for committing "offenses in a scheme to overthrow the socialist system of the DPRK," according to state-run news agency KCNA.
Kim's defense team noted that "he is old and may repent of his faults" in an effort to have his sentence commuted.
Kim becomes the second American to receive a hard labor sentence from North Korea.
In March, University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly removing a political banner from a Pyongyang hotel.
Prosecutors originally sought 15 years for Kim Jong Chul for committing "offenses in a scheme to overthrow the socialist system of the DPRK," according to state-run news agency KCNA.
Kim's defense team noted that "he is old and may repent of his faults" in an effort to have his sentence commuted.
Kim becomes the second American to receive a hard labor sentence from North Korea.
In March, University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly removing a political banner from a Pyongyang hotel.