Man with Encinitas Ties Released By North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea —  North Korea announced Friday that it will free an American missionary detained for illegally crossing its border on Christmas Day.

Robert Park slipped across the frozen Tumen River into the North from China carrying letters calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to shut the country's camps for political prisoners and step down from power.

The North "decided to leniently forgive and release him, taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration," the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Friday.

KCNA said Park stated in an interview that he trespassed into North Korea because of his "wrong understanding" of the country "caused by the false propaganda made by the West to tarnish its image."

It quoted Park as also saying he was now convinced that "there's complete religious freedom for all people everywhere" in North Korea, citing the return of his Bible by authorities and a service he attended at Pongsu Church in Pyongyang.

"What I have seen and heard in the (North) convinced me that I misunderstood it. So I seriously repented of the wrong I committed, taken in by the West's false propaganda," KCNA quoted Park as saying.

Original Report

ENCINITAS - The family of a 28-year-old missionary believed detained after crossing into North Korea said Tuesday they were anxiously awaiting information on his status and working with the U.S. State Department to ensure his safety and eventual return.

North Korea's official news agency reported Tuesday that an American citizen was being detained, but stopped short of saying whether it was missing missionary Robert Park, whose parents live in Encinitas.

"The last few days have been very difficult and challenging for the family. Not knowing Robert's whereabouts and/or his current state of well-being has been a source of ongoing concern and anxiety," a statement from Park's family read. "He is a very special member of our family. We miss having his love and compassion in our home."

Jo Sung-rae, head of Pax Koreana, a conservative civic group based in Seoul, told The New York Times earlier this week that Park, a resident of Tucson, Ariz., crossed into North Korea last Thursday, saying, "I am an American citizen. I am coming here to deliver God's love. God loves you."

Park reportedly planned to deliver a letter demanding that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il end his people's suffering.

The family's statement said they don't know where Park is being held, but that if word made it to him, "we want him to know we love him, we miss him and we are waiting anxiously for the opportunity to be reunited with him."

"Currently, our focus is on his status and well-being," the family said. "Our primary concern is his safety and eventual safe return. To this end, we are working with the U.S. Department of State, and our representatives in Congress to continue to work with us for the care and well-being of our family."

Before making the journey, Park said he was determined to become a "martyr" for the tens of thousands of people said to be incarcerated in North Korean concentration camps, Jo told The Times.

In a videotaped message he made before the trip, Park said he wanted to be arrested and had no intention of leaving North Korea until it shuts down its camps. He also said he did not want President Barack Obama to "buy his freedom," according to The Times.

Last August, former President Bill Clinton led a delegation to Pyongyang to negotiate the release of two American journalists held in North Korea for nearly five months. Prior to their release, Laura Ling and Euna Lee were each sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and "hostile acts."

The missing man last contacted his family in Encinitas via e-mail on Dec. 23, saying that "some great things are going to happen" and that he loved them, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on Monday.