Last August, former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang to secure the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were arrested in March when they crossed the border between China and North Korea. The women had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor after being convicted of entering the country illegally to conduct a "smear campaign" against the reclusive communist state.
At the time, Ling and Lee were working for Current TV, a media venture of former Vice President Al Gore. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the women after meeting with Clinton, ending the tense five-month ordeal.
Now, North Korean authorities claim they are holding another American who reportedly entered the country on Christmas Eve. Robert Park, a Korean-American missionary from Arizona, reportedly entered the communist state to bring a message of "Christ's love and forgiveness" to Kim.
Park's parents have told media outlets that their son was willing to die to deliver the message to Kim, which calls on the dictator to close concentration camps, release political prisoners and permit care teams to administer care, food, medicine and other necessities to the North Korean people.
The U.S. State Department has not yet confirmed that Park is in North Korean custody but is seeking additional information.
Park's reported captivity is disturbing. North Korean authorities take a dim view of people who enter their territory without authorization. Yet it is also troubling that Park, no doubt aware of the dangers, would take such a risk.
North Korea's human rights record is abysmal. Park allowing himself to be taken prisoner does not change that. Nor does it shed more light on the abuses or indignities prisoners suffer at the hands of North Korean officials.
Park's actions were likely well-meaning. But the United State's diplomatic relations with North Korea are complex. The United States relies on a Swedish protective power to communicate with North Korea, gather information and provide limited consular services to Americans authorized to visit North Korea.
The United States does not have direct, bilateral relations with the communist regime. It has participated in six-party talks with North Korea, along with China, South Korea, Russia and Japan regarding North Korea's nuclear ambitions. North Korea has repeatedly violated United Nation's sanctions imposed after North Korea has enriched nuclear materials, presumably to develop weapons.
Park may well become an unwitting pawn in North Korea's ongoing campaign for attention and recognition as a legitimate world power. That's highly regrettable, given the nation's unreliable nature.