US man speaks to reporters in N Korea
A US missionary who has been jailed in North Korea for more than a year has appeared before reporters and is appealing to the US government to do its best to secure his release.
The missionary, Kenneth Bae, made the comments on Monday at what he called a press conference held at his own request.
Bae was arrested in November 2012 while leading a tour group.
He was accused of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour on charges of seeking to topple the government.
The court described Bae as a militant Christian evangelist who had smuggled subversive material into the country and sought to establish a base in Rason.
He was moved to a hospital last northern summer in poor health.
Bae is reported to be suffering serious health problems and to have lost more than 50 pounds (23 kilograms) since being jailed.
But at Monday's press event, according to China's Xinhua news agency, Bae said he was in normal health after five months of treatment in hospital.
He is the longest-serving US detainee in North Korea in recent years.
Bae expressed hope that the US government will do its best to secure his release.
Wearing a grey cap and inmate's uniform with the number 103 on his chest, Bae spoke in Korean during the brief appearance on Monday, which was attended by foreign media reporters in Pyongyang.
"I believe that my problem can be solved by close co-operation and agreement between the American government and the government of this country," he said.
He said he has not been treated badly in confinement.
"We shouldn't take Kenneth Bae's comments merely as his own," said Kim Jin Moo, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea Institute for Defence Analyses in Seoul.
"The reason why North Korea had Kenneth Bae make this statement... is that they want Washington to reach out to them."
"Bae's comments are an appeal to Washington to actively persuade Pyongyang to release him," Kim said.
Jailed US citizen Bae speaks at Pyongyang briefing
The Korean-American admitted to wrongdoing and called on the US government to help secure his release so that he could return to his family "at the earliest possible date", Japan's Kyodo news agency said.
There was no way of knowing if Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator also known by his Korean name Pae Jun-Ho, was speaking under duress.
Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old US veteran detained for weeks by North Korea, said after his release that a videotaped confession he made while being held was given involuntarily.
Bae spoke to a small group of media at what was described as a news conference. He was dressed in a grey inmate's uniform and flanked by two security guards, Kyodo said, adding that the event lasted about three and a half minutes.
