Lynnwood man reportedly being held in North Korea

A Lynnwood man reportedly has been in custody for more than a month in North Korea, according to news reports.

Kenneth Bae, a Korean American and U.S. citizen, is the owner of Nations Tour, a company that focuses on tours to the northeast region of North Korea, according to NKnews.org, a website focusing North Korean news. The news organization reported that the Nations Tour’s website has been taken down.

CNN reported that the U.S. government does not believe that Bae, who has traveled to North Korea several times before, is being mistreated. Bae has been involved with a Protestant group, a U.S. official told the network.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in her daily press briefing Tuesday that, “We’re obviously aware of these reports that a U.S. citizen has been detained in North Korea. We obviously have no higher priority than the welfare of our citizens.”

Nuland declined further comment on Bae’s case because of “privacy considerations.”

A South Korean newspaper reported that Bae had been arrested by security authorities in North Korea in early November. Bae, 44, entered the northeastern port city of Rajin, according to the newspaper.

Bae was detained by North Korean authorities and has been questioned after a computer hard disk was found, it quoted an unidentified source as saying. The source told the paper that the hard disk might have contained sensitive information about North Korea.

Sweden is lobbying for Bae’s release, Nuland said in the briefing.

“We have no representation in Pyongyang, (North Korea),” Nuland said. “The Embassy of Sweden acts as our protecting power for issues involving U.S. citizens in North Korea.”

Sinae Cheh, a Korean American who serves as the artistic director of the Morning Star Korean Cultural Center in Lynnwood, said she doesn’t think she knows Bae.

“We have a large Korean community in south Snohomish County and most of us are affiliated with Christian organizations,” Cheh said. “Not knowing the whole story, I would say that at this point we should not overreact and be too worried about Kenneth Bae. Many of us have information on our computers whether we intend to or not.”

About six years ago, the Rev. Phillip Jun Buck, then 68, of Everett, was released from a Chinese prison after more than a year. The Korean American missionary was providing humanitarian aid to North Korean refugees in northeastern China when police arrested him.

State Rep. Cindy Ryu, a Democrat in the 32nd Legislative District, said that it could be that people in the south Snohomish County Korean community are not as familiar with Bae’s Americanized name.

“They probably know him by his Korean name,” said Ryu, of Shoreline.

And Bae could be billing himself as a tour director when his true work is as a Christian missionary, she said.

“Many of us are third- and fourth-generation Christians and many of our pastors are originally from North Korea,” Ryu said. “We want to visit our home country, but in North Korea you cannot say you are a missionary.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.