
An American man has begun a six-year sentence of hard labor in North Korea, CNN reports.
Matthew Miller, of Bakersfield, Calif., was arrested in North Korea in April and convicted earlier this month of committing acts “hostile” to the regime.
A shaven-headed Miller has been assigned the prisoner number 107, but CNN says there are no details of where in North Korea he will serve his sentence, or the nature of the labor he will be required to perform.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency claimed that the 25-year-old tore up his tourist visa upon arrival in Pyongyang as part of a ploy to be sent to prison so that he could report on human-rights violations there. It accused him of wanting to become a “second Snowden through intentional hooliganism.”
Washington, which has no diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, has unsuccessfully sought a meeting with North Korean officials to arrange the release of three Americans held in the state, including Miller.
[CNN]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington Meet the 2025 Women of the Year Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer? Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love 11 New Books to Read in February How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Cecily Strong on Goober the Clown
- Column: The Rise of America’s Broligarchy
Write to Elizabeth Barber at elizabeth.barber@timeasia.com