North Korea claims diplomats 'mugged' at US airport
June 19, 2017
US officials have said that the men were not accredited diplomats. The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that items were confiscated but denied allegations of physical violence.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/Korean Central News Agency
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The government of North Korea claimed on Sunday that US officials used physical violence and stole items from a diplomatic delegation departing from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) called it an "illegal and heinous act of provocation."
According to the North Korean government, some of its diplomats were on their way home after attending the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on June 16.
It was then that they were "literally mugged," by security agents, who confiscated some media material, according to the Foreign Ministry in Pyongyang.
A 'gangster state'
"As the diplomats vigorously resisted, they grabbed the diplomatic package using physical violence and made off," the North Korean ministry said. "This clearly shows that the US is a felonious and lawless gangster state."
"The international community needs to seriously reconsider whether or not New York, where such an outrageous mugging is rampant, is fit to serve as the venue for international meetings," the ministry claimed.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that some items had been taken but stated that the men in question were not accredited members of North Korea's UN mission and therefore had no diplomatic immunity.
Only three days before the incident at JFK Airport, a 22-year-old student was returned to the US in a state of "severe neurological injury" after 15 months in detention in North Korea.
Otto Warmbier had been charged with espionage after he tried to steal a propaganda poster during a short trip to the isolated state. Warmbier has since died,with his father citing "torturous mistreatment" at the hands of the regime as the reason for his passing.
es/jm (AP, Reuters)
A journey along the border of China and North Korea
The Yalu River region at the border of China and North Korea is a traditional tourist attraction, but business lately hasn't been booming. A team of Reuters photojournalists explored the area.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
The bridge to nowhere
A tourist attraction in the Chinese border city of Dandong is the old bridge over the Yalu, which was damaged by US bombs during the Korean War. On the North Korean side the remains were demolished, but on the Chinese side, the bridge was preserved as a memorial. A few meters away is the so-called "Sino-Korean friendship bridge," over which goods are transported between the two countries.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
A symbolic connection
The preserved Chinese section of the Yalu Bridge is open for tourists. In 2015, a new bridge called the "New Yalu Bridge" was completed. The 350-million-dollar project was completely financed by China and completed in only three years. There is only one problem - there is no traffic going over the bridge as the North Korean side ends abruptly in farmland without any connection to roads.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
Ambitious plans and harsh reality
The city of Sinuiju lies on the North Korean bank of the Yalu River with a population of around 400,000. As an important transportation hub, along with the Sino-Korean friendship bridge, Sinuiju has had its own harbor for 100 years. A highway and rail connection to the capital Pyongyang is also being planned, which if completed would significantly facilitate flow of traffic across the border.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
'Touch' a small piece of North Korea
For tourists on the Chinese side, a quick look at everyday life for people in North Korea is especially interesting. For example, this picture taken in March shows the resources used by North Korean farmers near Sinuiju.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
A sneak peek at a reclusive land
This Chinese man earns a few yuan by charging tourists to look at North Korea through his telescopes. The isolated country will then appear to only be a stone's throw away.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
Souvenirs for sale next to barbed wire
For those who want something to remember their trip by, Chinese souvenir hawkers sell their goods with a view of North Korea included for free.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
North Korea is also on the menu
North Korean influence can be found everywhere in the border city of Dandong. The country also runs numerous restaurants for prestige purposes. This is also a source of money for the regime in Pyongyang.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
Icy relations
Relations between North Korea and its most important partner, China, have significantly deteriorated since the North's fourth nuclear test in 2016. Unlike in the past, Beijing supported the increasing of UN sanctions in response to the tests. And in response to recent North Korean missile tests, China stopped coal imports from the country in February.
Image: Reuters/D. Sagolj
A sputtering economic engine
China and North Korea are very intent on significantly expanding economic relations in the border region, but the Reuters team found little evidence of this currently happening. These luxury apartments in Dandong may be finished - but they are accompanied by numerous half-completed buildings and construction sites. And the planned special economic zone has also yet to open.
