N.Korea Says Jailed American in ‘Special Prison’

{{North Korea said Wednesday that the U.S. citizen it sentenced last month to 15 years of hard labor has begun his stay at a “special prison.”}}

Kenneth Bae, who the North Koreans refer to as Pae Jun Ho, was arrested in November in Rason city, a port in the northeastern corner of North Korea.

North Korea accuses him of seeking to bring down the regime of Kim Jong Un, but the United States and his family say he was just working as a tour operator.

In a short article Wednesday, the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Bae had “started his life at a ‘special prison’ on Tuesday.” It didn’t give any details about the prison.

The United States has repeatedly called on North Korea to grant Bae amnesty and release him immediately, but the requests so far don’t appear to have gained any traction following a period of heightened tensions between the two countries.

Even a plea last week for Bae’s release from the basketball star Dennis Rodman, who met with Kim Jong Un during a bizarre visit to North Korea in February, has failed to have any apparent effect.

{Agencies}