North Korea
first reaction was how terrible. then I thought, you know what, these kids think it's cool to visit other Countries but then think they can behave like this? This is what happens. A lesson learned the hard way.
Idiot. Seriously. You're in NORTH KOREA, not North Dakota. And now some current or former high-raking political type needs to get on a plane to Pyongyang so the Whackjob Kim can get some propaganda photos taken and you can get your boneheaded ass pulled out of a work camp. Brilliant.
Who knows if he even did it. He was picked up at the airport, on his way out. They could have randomly picked him.
There have been a number of stories involving North Korea and similar countries....people don't bother to try to understand the laws and way of life and play games...and lose..
There was a story about a person arrested for a Bible, in another countries, some hikers allegedly crossed the border from the safe country and were imprisoned for a year or 2...but when you are hiking near a dangerous country, you need to know better than to go anywhere near the border.
I think it is confirmed that he had the sign.
shoshannah said:
Who knows if he even did it. He was picked up at the airport, on his way out. They could have randomly picked him.
Nah, it's cool. He confessed.
I was a stupid college kid and smuggled letters out of the Soviet Union for Jewish refusniks. As both a young person and an American, I felt invincible. My guess is that the USSR wasn't as closed or punitive then as North Korea is now, but I can imagine this kid is in shock. I'm just saying, I can imagine he underestimated North Korea's reaction because he is young and inexperienced.
lisat said:
I was a stupid college kid and smuggled letters out of the Soviet Union for Jewish refusniks. As both a young person and an American, I felt invincible. My guess is that the USSR wasn't as closed or punitive then as North Korea is now, but I can imagine this kid is in shock. I'm just saying, I can imagine he underestimated North Korea's reaction because he is young and inexperienced.
at least that had a worthwhile purpose
lisat said:
I was a stupid college kid and smuggled letters out of the Soviet Union for Jewish refusniks. As both a young person and an American, I felt invincible. My guess is that the USSR wasn't as closed or punitive then as North Korea is now, but I can imagine this kid is in shock. I'm just saying, I can imagine he underestimated North Korea's reaction because he is young and inexperienced.
He's on scholarship at UVA. Granted, they don't award scholarships for common sense, but still.
RobB said:
shoshannah said:
Who knows if he even did it. He was picked up at the airport, on his way out. They could have randomly picked him.
Nah, it's cool. He confessed.
Well they said they had a video and he didn't actually take the thing. Yes, yes, they SAID... I know. But they hardly accused him of stealing state secrets, and it's not hard to think that they have cameras absolutely everywhere, especially hotels. If these lunatics were going to make it up, I think they would have come up with something more befitting the creative minds that came up with shooting a 19 on a par 72.
jmitw said:
lisat said:
I was a stupid college kid and smuggled letters out of the Soviet Union for Jewish refusniks. As both a young person and an American, I felt invincible. My guess is that the USSR wasn't as closed or punitive then as North Korea is now, but I can imagine this kid is in shock. I'm just saying, I can imagine he underestimated North Korea's reaction because he is young and inexperienced.
at least that had a worthwhile purpose
+1
Even if he didn't do it, North Korea is known for this type of thing so why would any person in their right mind go as a tourist. Going for humanitarian aid I can understand, like going to perform surgeries on patients that NK is unable to provide for their own citizens, but even then only after fully understanding and accepting the risks that come with entering a country where the regime hates us and controls everything.
spontaneous said:
.... why would any person in their right mind go as a tourist.
I have to admit that when I read about such trips, I pretty much automatically assume "not in their right mind, poor thing"
It still boggles my mind that some Americans would dare to travel to North Korea. Currently, an American student has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for stealing a political sign. The U.S. State Department's detailed warning about traveling to North Korea has always been clear about the real risks involved, to say nothing of Kim Jong-un's regular threats to annihilate the U.S.
WaPo: North Korea Sentences U-Va Student to 15 Years of Hard Labor in Prison
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/16/north-korea-sentences-u-va-student-to-15-years-of-hard-labor-in-prison/
U.S. Department of State North Korea Travel Warning
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/north-korea-travel-warning.html