List of foreign nationals detained in North Korea

This is a list of foreign nationals who have been detained in North Korea. Excluded from the list are any persons who were detained while on active military duty and held as prisoners of war or military defectors.

List of detained Americans

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Likely reason for detention	Ref.
Hunziker, EvanEvan Hunziker	24 August 1996	27 November 1996	95	Illegally entering North Korea	[1]
Lee, EunaEuna Lee	17 March 2009	4 August 2009	140	Illegally entering North Korea	[2]
Ling, LauraLaura Ling					[2]
Park, RobertRobert Park	25 December 2009	6 February 2010	43	Illegally entering North Korea	[3]
Gomes, AijalonAijalon Gomes	25 January 2010	26 August 2010	213	Illegally entering North Korea	[4]
Jun, Eddie Yong SuEddie Yong Su Jun	November 2010	28 May 2011	~208	"committing a crime" against North Korea[5]	[6]
Bae, KennethKenneth Bae	3 November 2012	8 November 2014	735	Unauthorized religious activity	[7][8]
Newman, MerrillMerrill Newman	26 October 2013	7 December 2013	42	Issues related to his service in the Korean War	[9]
Miller, MatthewMatthew Miller	10 April 2014	8 November 2014	212	Acts hostile to the DPRK while entering under the guise of a tourist.[10] He had travelled to North Korea intending to get arrested.[11]	[12][13]
Fowle, JeffreyJeffrey Fowle	4 May 2014	21 October 2014	170	Acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism" by leaving a Bible at a club	[14][15]
Suh, SandraSandra Suh	8 April 2015	8 April 2015	0	"harming the dignity of the supreme leadership, trying to use religion to destroy the North Korean system"	[16]
Dong Chul, KimKim Dong Chul	October 2015	In detention	~213	Espionage	[17]
Warmbier, OttoOtto Warmbier	January 2, 2016	In detention	120	Committing "hostile acts" against the DPRK by allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel	[18]

List of detained Canadians

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Likely reason for detention	Ref.
Lim, Hyeon SooHyeon Soo Lim	February 2015	In detention	455	"harming the dignity of the supreme leadership, trying to use religion to destroy the North Korean system"	[16]

List of detained Australians

Name	Detained	Released	Days in detention	Likely reason for detention	Ref.
Short, JohnJohn Short	16 February 2014	3 March 2014	15	Unauthorized religious activity	[19]

See also

• 2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North Korea
• Americans in North Korea
• North Korea–United States relations
• North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens
• North Korean abductions of South Koreans

References

1. "Jailed American Arrives Home For Thanksgiving -- North Korea Frees Washington Man". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. 1996-11-27. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
2. "Ling Sisters Recount Laura's Capture In North Korea". National Public Radio. 2010-05-19. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
3. Gabbatt, Adam (2010-02-07). "US human rights campaigner freed by North Korea returns home". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2014-08-09.
4. Andersen, Travis and Farah Stockman (2010-08-27). "Boston man set free in N. Korea". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
5. "Family of American detained in North Korea cheers his release". CNN. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
6. CNN Wire Staff (May 29, 2011). "Family of American detained in North Korea cheers his release". CNN. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
7. Bright, Arthur (2013-05-10). "North Korea explains why it sentenced American Kenneth Bae to hard labor". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
8. Greg Botelho, CNN (November 8, 2014). "North Korea releases American detainees Bae, Miller". CNN. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
9. "US war veteran Merrill Newman home after N Korea ordeal". BBC News. 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
10. Fifield, Anna (14 September 2014). "North Korea sentences American Matthew Miller to 6 years of hard labor". Washington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
11. Stephen Evans (17 November 2014). "Matthew Miller: Trying to get jailed in North Korea". BBC. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
12. Ferguson, Carol (2014-07-02). "Bakersfield man held in North Korea, US officials request release". KBAK-TV/KBFX-CD. Retrieved 2014-08-10.
13. Greg Botelho, CNN (November 8, 2014). "North Korea releases American detainees Bae, Miller". CNN. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
14. Labott, Elise (October 21, 2014). "American released from North Korea". CNN. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
15. "North Korea releases American Jeffrey Fowle, US confirms". The Guardian (London). 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2014-10-21.
16. "Hyeon Soo Lim, Toronto pastor, sentenced to life in prison in North Korea". CBC News. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
17. Ripley, Will; Griffiths, James (22 January 2016). "North Korea reveals alleged U.S. prisoner to CNN". CNN. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
18. Pearson, James; Park, Ju-Min (22 January 2016). "North Korea detains U.S. student on New Year trip for 'hostile act'". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
19. "Australian missionary deported from North Korea describes 13-day detention". The Guardian. March 5 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2016. Check date values in: |date= (help)