North Korea Detains 24-Year-Old American Tourist Who Wanted Shelter There!

North Korea has detained a 24-year-old American tourist, reports Reuters. The local news agency KCNA has said that the US citizen, identified as one Miller Matthew Todd was taken into custody on April 10 and has been detained ever since.

Todd Miller is being blamed for displaying “rash behavior” while going through formalities for entry in to North Korea. According to a KCNA press release, “A relevant organ of the DPRK put in custody American Miller Matthew Todd, 24, on April 10 for his rash behavior in the course of going through formalities for entry into the DPRK to tour it”.

A BBC report says that Todd allegedly tore up his tourist visa and shouted that he had come to North Korea after choosing it as a shelter. Apparently, Todd seems to be enamored by the country so much that he wishes to be a citizen there and was unhappy with a mere tourist visa.

While it has been over two weeks since North Korea detained Todd Matthews, it is unclear as to why news about his detention was announced only now. According to some, North Korea could have wanted this release to coincide with the visit of president Obama to neighboring South Korea. Obama earlier today met his South Korean counterpart as part of his Asia tour.

The news of Todd Miller’s detention by North Korea comes a year and a half after US-Korean missionary Kenneth Bae was arrested by North Korea in November 2012. He was convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for trying to overthrow the Korean regime. While efforts have been made by Washington in the past for securing Bae’s release, nothing much has happened on the ground.

In January 2014, Kenneth Bae was allowed to make a rare public announcement, his second to the media since he was detained. In the address, he admitted to perform acts that were against North Korea and pressed the US government to do something to press for his release. Another American prisoner, an 85-year-old war veteran, Merrill Newman was detained and subsequently released by North Korea late last year,

As for Todd Miller, as of now we have no information regarding the identity of this person and about his roots in the US. We expect more information to trickle in in the days to come.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]