2014 Feb-March
Arrested Australian John Short was in North Korea for more than tourism: travel officials - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-20/australian-missionary-north-korea-not-just-tourist-company/5271188
Australian missionary deported from North Korea describes 13-day detention
John Short, 75, says he was interrogated for four hours a day and kept under 24-hour guard
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/australian-missionary-deported-north-korea-john-short
Arrested Australian John Short was in North Korea for more than tourism: travel officials
AM By China correspondent Stephen McDonell
Updated 20 Feb 2014, 1:48pm
PHOTO: Mr Short, a Hong-Kong based Australian missionary, travelled to North Korea on a two-man tour with Chinese Christian Wang Chong. (ABC TV)
RELATED STORY: Australian missionary detained in N Korea
RELATED STORY: North Korea to put American citizen on trial
RELATED STORY: North Korea detains American tourist: report
An Australian missionary being held in North Korea had admitted he was in the country for more than just tourism, according to North Korean tourism officials who have been in touch with his Chinese travel company.
John Short, 75, has been arrested in North Korea for distributing Christian pamphlets and could face a long period of incarceration.
Details are emerging of how Mr Short came to be arrested following apparent attempts to proselytise, which is illegal inside the isolated country.
Mr Short, a Hong-Kong based Australian missionary, travelled to North Korea on a two-man tour with Chinese Christian Wang Chong.
The Chinese travel agency which booked the two-person trip says it has been told that Mr Short, as well as carrying a large amount of Korean language Christian pamphlets in his luggage, has admitted to local officials that his journey was not only for the purpose of tourism.
Proselytising is viewed harshly inside North Korea and Mr Short, who is being held in custody in Pyongyang, is undoubtedly in trouble.
Mr Wang, who has now returned to Beijing, says their problems stemmed from a visit to a Buddhist temple, where Mr Short left pamphlet materials promoting Christianity.
"They took us to a mountain to visit a temple and a Buddhist statue was broken or smashed by someone. The door of this temple was damaged too," Mr Wang said.
"They were not happy for us to see this damage. We took some photos. They asked us to delete them and we deleted them.
"Mr Short believes in God. I believe in God too.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
AUDIO: Listen to Stephen McDonell's report for AM (AM)
"He didn't feel comfortable in his heart and he left a pamphlet there relating to the gospel."
The local North Korean tour guide reported this to his superiors, who told security officials.
They found a fair quantity of Korean language Christian pamphlet material in Mr Short's bags back at the hotel.
Chinese tour company communicating with North Korean counterparts
The fact that BTG, the Chinese tour company that booked the trip for the two men, is communicating with its North Korean counterparts does not bode well for Mr Short.
RELATED STORY: Australian missionary detained in N Korea
RELATED STORY: North Korea to put American citizen on trial
RELATED STORY: North Korea detains American tourist: report
An Australian missionary being held in North Korea had admitted he was in the country for more than just tourism, according to North Korean tourism officials who have been in touch with his Chinese travel company.
John Short, 75, has been arrested in North Korea for distributing Christian pamphlets and could face a long period of incarceration.
Details are emerging of how Mr Short came to be arrested following apparent attempts to proselytise, which is illegal inside the isolated country.
Mr Short, a Hong-Kong based Australian missionary, travelled to North Korea on a two-man tour with Chinese Christian Wang Chong.
The Chinese travel agency which booked the two-person trip says it has been told that Mr Short, as well as carrying a large amount of Korean language Christian pamphlets in his luggage, has admitted to local officials that his journey was not only for the purpose of tourism.
Proselytising is viewed harshly inside North Korea and Mr Short, who is being held in custody in Pyongyang, is undoubtedly in trouble.
Mr Wang, who has now returned to Beijing, says their problems stemmed from a visit to a Buddhist temple, where Mr Short left pamphlet materials promoting Christianity.
"They took us to a mountain to visit a temple and a Buddhist statue was broken or smashed by someone. The door of this temple was damaged too," Mr Wang said.
"They were not happy for us to see this damage. We took some photos. They asked us to delete them and we deleted them.
"Mr Short believes in God. I believe in God too.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
AUDIO: Listen to Stephen McDonell's report for AM (AM)
"He didn't feel comfortable in his heart and he left a pamphlet there relating to the gospel."
The local North Korean tour guide reported this to his superiors, who told security officials.
They found a fair quantity of Korean language Christian pamphlet material in Mr Short's bags back at the hotel.
Chinese tour company communicating with North Korean counterparts
The fact that BTG, the Chinese tour company that booked the trip for the two men, is communicating with its North Korean counterparts does not bode well for Mr Short.
Sorry, this video has expiredVIDEO: Australian arrested in North Korea over Christian pamphlets (ABC News)
An employee, Han Weiping, has been speaking to the North Koreans.
"When we called the DPRK travel agency they said he had admitted that he didn't go to North Korea only for tourism," Ms Weiping said.
With the North Koreans talking about such an admission, it is highly probable they are building a case against Mr Short.
Ms Weiping said that the trip was supposed to be for four days.
"The pamphlet event happened on the second day," Ms Weiping said.
"And on the third day it was planned for them to visit some sites, but the Australian man said he didn't want to go out and instead wanted to stay in the hotel.
"So the North Koreans could've become even more suspicious that he wasn't there as a tourist."
Mr Short's wife Karen Short says he went to North Korea because he wanted to help the local population.
PHOTO: American-Korean Kenneth Bae was found guilty of this type of missionary work in North Korea. (AFP: FreeKenNow.com)She says it was her husband's second trip to the secretive country and he was aware of the risks.
Ms Short says she has been told her husband could be sentenced to hard labour for possession of illegal materials.
"He didn't go with the purpose to offend them," Ms Short said.
"But one-on-one contact is all you can do. You can't stand in the middle of the street and proclaim anything."
American-Korean Kenneth Bae was found guilty of this type of missionary work in North Korea and was sentenced to 15 years hard labour.
Topics: community-and-society, religion-and-beliefs, law-crime-and-justice, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, australia
First posted 20 Feb 2014, 8:06am More
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Australian missionary deported from North Korea describes 13-day detention
John Short, 75, says he was interrogated for four hours a day and kept under 24-hour guard
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/australian-missionary-deported-north-korea-john-short
Associated Press in Canberra
Thu 6 Mar 2014 02.17 AEDTFirst published on Thu 6 Mar 2014 02.17 AEDT
Comments13
Australian missionary John Short, left, arriving at Beijing airport after being deported from North Korea. Photograph: Vincent Thian/AP
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An Australian missionary detained for 13 days in North Korea for trying to spread Christianity has said that he was interrogated for four hours a day and kept under 24-hour guard.
North Korea deported John Short, 75, on Monday, saying he had apologised for anti-state religious acts and asked forgiveness.
Short said that recounting biblical scriptures helped him endure the "long and gruelling investigation". "There were two-hour sessions each morning, which were repeated in the afternoons," he added.
Short, an enthusiastic walker, said his confinement in a room in Pyongyang under constant guard was stressful. "This I found to be most painful physically as an active senior person," he said. "I missed my freedom to walk very much."
Short was detained on 18 February as he prepared to leave his Pyongyang hotel for the airport. He said he admitted his crime: distributing Bible tracts in order to convert North Koreans. "I strongly protested that I was not a spy, nor working with any South Korean organisations nor was I hostile to the DPRK," he wrote, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He said he was told that he faced 15 years in prison for distributing religious pamphlets at a Buddhist temple and on a train. "I confessed that I had knowingly broken the law in what I believed is my God-directed duty and as I do in every place and country I visit," Short said. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said North Korea decided to expel him in part because of his age.
North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice only officially sanctioned services are tolerated by the government. Defectors from the country have said that distributing Bibles or holding secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labour camp or execution.
North Korea typically frees foreign detainees after they admit their crimes, but many say after their release that their confessions were given under duress. Last week, North Korea presented to the media a detained South Korean missionary who apologised for allegedly trying to reach Pyongyang with Bibles and other Christian materials in October.
Short – who is originally from Barmera, South Australia, but has lived in Hong Kong since 1964 – has been arrested several times for evangelising in mainland China, according to a biography on a Christian website, Gospel Attract.
According to his written apology issued by KCNA, Short said he also visited North Korea in August 2012 to distribute Bible tracts.
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An Australian missionary detained for 13 days in North Korea for trying to spread Christianity has said that he was interrogated for four hours a day and kept under 24-hour guard.
North Korea deported John Short, 75, on Monday, saying he had apologised for anti-state religious acts and asked forgiveness.
Short said that recounting biblical scriptures helped him endure the "long and gruelling investigation". "There were two-hour sessions each morning, which were repeated in the afternoons," he added.
Short, an enthusiastic walker, said his confinement in a room in Pyongyang under constant guard was stressful. "This I found to be most painful physically as an active senior person," he said. "I missed my freedom to walk very much."
Short was detained on 18 February as he prepared to leave his Pyongyang hotel for the airport. He said he admitted his crime: distributing Bible tracts in order to convert North Koreans. "I strongly protested that I was not a spy, nor working with any South Korean organisations nor was I hostile to the DPRK," he wrote, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
He said he was told that he faced 15 years in prison for distributing religious pamphlets at a Buddhist temple and on a train. "I confessed that I had knowingly broken the law in what I believed is my God-directed duty and as I do in every place and country I visit," Short said. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said North Korea decided to expel him in part because of his age.
North Korea's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice only officially sanctioned services are tolerated by the government. Defectors from the country have said that distributing Bibles or holding secret prayer services can mean banishment to a labour camp or execution.
North Korea typically frees foreign detainees after they admit their crimes, but many say after their release that their confessions were given under duress. Last week, North Korea presented to the media a detained South Korean missionary who apologised for allegedly trying to reach Pyongyang with Bibles and other Christian materials in October.
Short – who is originally from Barmera, South Australia, but has lived in Hong Kong since 1964 – has been arrested several times for evangelising in mainland China, according to a biography on a Christian website, Gospel Attract.
According to his written apology issued by KCNA, Short said he also visited North Korea in August 2012 to distribute Bible tracts.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Short_(missionary)
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"북한서 억류된 호주선교사, 전도용 인쇄물 소지"
기사입력 2014-02-20
https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=100&oid=001&aid=0006767181&fbclid=IwAR2mvE8r-mG7RKLvauysHejg6IwVfq_vmXXwAx2K-iV9cKOzxWqCQKk8FK4
호주선교사 존 쇼트(75)가 북한 경찰에 체포될 당시 소지하고 있던 한국어 번역 기독교 전도용 인쇄물 (AP=연합뉴스)
(시드니=연합뉴스) 정열 특파원 = 관광단의 일원으로 북한을 방문했다가 현지 당국에 억류된 호주 선교사 존 쇼트(75)는 단순한 관광객이 아니라 현지에서 전도 활동을 하려 했던 것으로 알려졌다고 호주 국영 ABC방송이 20일 보도했다.
방송에 따르면 쇼트는 자신이 머물던 평양 시내 호텔에서 북한 경찰에 체포될 당시 한국어로 번역된 기독교 전도용 인쇄물을 다량 소지하고 있었던 것으로 전해졌다.
쇼트 본인도 북한 당국의 심문 과정에서 자신의 북한 방문이 단순한 관광 목적이 아니란 사실을 시인했다고 북한 관리와 접촉한 중국 여행사 BTG가 밝혔다.
쇼트의 북한 방문을 알선한 이 여행사는 쇼트가 기독교 신자인 중국인 왕총과 단둘이 북한을 방문했으며 쇼트의 짐에는 한국어로 번역된 다량의 기독교 전도용 인쇄물이 들어 있었다고 말했다.
이 여행사는 쇼트를 억류한 북한측 관리와 계속 접촉을 하고 있지만 쇼트가 심문 과정에서 전도 목적의 북한 방문을 인정한 이상 그가 현지에서 기소될 가능성이 큰 것으로 보인다고 설명했다.
BTG 직원인 한웨이핑은 "북한 측으로부터 쇼트가 자신이 단순한 관광객이 아니란 사실을 시인했다고 전해들었다"며 "쇼트 일행은 원래 나흘 일정으로 북한을 방문했지만 이틀째 되는 날 경찰이 호텔로 찾아왔다"고 말했다.
북한을관광하던 중 현지 당국에 억류된 호주 선교사 존 쇼트(75) (AP=연합뉴스)
홍콩에 거주하는 호주 선교사 쇼트의 북한 억류는 여러모로 한국계 미국인 케네스 배(45)의 사례를 연상시킨다.
예수전도단(YWAM) 소속 개신교 선교사인 배 씨는 2012년 11월 종교활동을 통한 정부 전복 혐의로 북한 나선에서 붙잡혀 15년의 노동교화형을 선고받고 복역 중이다.
이에 따라 쇼트 역시 같은 혐의로 기소될 경우 최고 15년형을 선고받을 것으로 예상된다.
호주 외교부는 쇼트가 억류된 사실을 인지했지만 북한과 직접적 외교 채널이 없는 상태여서 주한 호주대사관과 북한 주재 스웨덴대사관을 통해 접촉을 시도하고 있다.
줄리 비숍 호주 외교부 장관은 "호주는 북한에 외교공관이 없기 때문에 쇼트에게 영사적 지원을 해주기가 어려운 상황"이라며 "북한 주재 스웨덴대사관을 통해 북한 당국과의 접촉을 시도하고 있다"고 말했다.
passion@yna.co.kr
