Political science professor Han Park was quoted in a Washington Times article about President Bill Clinton’s recent trip to North Korea, during which Clinton secured the release of two American captives.
The North Korean government “wasn’t interested in implementing the sentence” of 12 years hard labor against the women, Park said. “They wanted something that would make them seem respectable in the world and within North Korea.”
He added: “In the case of this situation, you had two Americans being held against their will in a country that has been, to say the least, difficult to communicate with, let alone negotiate with.”