Reports have surfaced that U.S. Spy Chief James Clapper was wined and dined with a “marvelous” 12-course meal during a secret visit to North Korea this past November on a mission to bring back two jailed Americans. After the banquet, the Director of National Intelligence was reportedly told that his security could not be guaranteed.
According to the Telegraph, Clapper attended the dinner at a restaurant located above a bowling alley. The day after, Clapper was told by a state security ministry representative that the government no longer considered him a presidential envoy and that his and his party’s security would be in their own hands. Clapper was then taken to a hotel in the “Hermit Kingdom’s” capital of Pyongyang, where Americans Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller were waiting for them, still dressed in their prison uniforms, along with a delegation of Korean officials and state prosecutors.
Bae, 46, is a Korean-American missionary from Washington State. He had reportedly been arrested in November of 2012 for crimes against the state and was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Miller, in his 20’s, was convicted of espionage in April of last year and was serving the beginning of six years of hard labor, the Telegraph notes.
After being read a denunciation of prisoners, Bae and Miller reportedly were released to Clapper and his team after which they changed into civilian clothing and were then escorted by Clapper et al to an airport where they boarded a flight home to America, notes the Telegraph. They reportedly arrived home to a warm reception on November 8.
In their 2015 World Report, Human Rights Watch said “Dynastic North Korea Supreme Leader King Jong-Un and senior members of his government should be held accountable for overseeing grave rights abuses and crimes against humanity.”
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz
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