LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Korean-American missionary who defiantly crossed a frozen river into North Korea intent on urging a change in its leadership has reunited with his overjoyed family, silent and downcast after 43 days in the communist nation’s custody.Robert Park, 28, wept as he left the flight from Beijing Saturday evening and met with his family, his brother said.”Hugging him, there didn’t seem to be anything broken,” said Paul Park, who said he was speechless when he spotted his brother. The greeting took place in a private location, but the family spoke to reporters briefly as they left the airport. A thin and pale Park — who flew from Pyongyang to Beijing after North Korea announced Friday he would be freed — wouldn’t speak and kept his eyes downcast while Paul Park told reporters his brother is in good condition.Robert Park, of Tucson, Ariz., crossed the frozen Tumen River from China into North Korea on Dec. 25, carrying letters calling on leader Kim Jong Il to close the country’s notoriously brutal prison camps and step down from power. Those acts could have risked execution in the hardline communist country.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]
Missionary held 43 days in North Korea arrives in US
By The Associated Press
February 7, 2010