SEOUL: North Korea sentenced US citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years hard labour for committing “hostile acts” as a tourist to the country, a statement carried by state media said on Sunday.

Matthew Miller joins Kenneth Bae to become the second American currently serving a hard labour sentence in North Korea. A third, Jeffrey Fowle, is currently awaiting trial. “He committed acts hostile to the DPRK while entering the territory of the DPRK under the guise of a tourist last April,” the short statement said, without elaborating. The Korean version of the statement descr­ibed Miller’s punishment as a “labour re-education” sentence. Miller, from Bakersfield, California and in his mid-20s, entered North Korea in April this year whereupon he tore up his tourist visa and dem­anded Pyongyang grant him asylum, acco­rding to a release from state media at the time. He was travelling on a private trip without foreign guides, according to Uri Tours, the company that organised his trip.

North Korea has not elaborated on Miller’s charges, but photos of the trial released by state media showed some of Miller’s personal possessions, including his passport, phone, notebook and North Korean visa — which appeared to be ripped.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2014