Two U.S. citizens will go on trial in North Korea for acts “inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit,” included one Christian who will be indicted for leaving a Bible in a hotel room. Jeffrey Fowle, 56, and Matthew Miller, 24, will be tried in a North Korean court for “perpetrating hostile acts” against the government, though the North Korean Central News Agency has not specified how they will be charged.
Fowle, who was part of a tour group, was detained in May when a Bible was found in his hotel room while he attempted to leave the country. Fowle has insisted he was not on a missionary trip at the time. Miller was detained when he entered North Korea with a tourist visa but tore it up when he arrived and declared he was seeking asylum.
The Christian Post reported North Korea has held a number of Christians in its territory it has deemed to be trying to spread the Christian gospel, which is illegal there and punishable by prison.
The U.S. State Department has warned citizens traveling to North Korea that they cannot expect protection from arbitrary arrest, as America does not maintain diplomatic relations with North Korea. The warning, posted in May, reads in part, “Foreign visitors to North Korea may be arrested, detained or expelled for activities that would not be considered criminal outside North Korea, including involvement in unsanctioned religious and/or political activities (whether those activities took place inside or outside North Korea), unauthorized travel or unauthorized interaction with the local population.”
