US veteran Merrill Newman says North Korea ‘confession’ made under duress
US Korean war veteran held in North Korea warned he could be jailed for 15 years for spying if he did not co-operate
A US Korean war veteran held for over a month in North Korea said on Monday that a video “confession” released during his detention was made under duress.
Merrill Newman, 85, who was released last week and is now back home in California, said he was warned he could be jailed for 15 years for spying if he did not co-operate.
Newman, who was on a guided tourist trip to the reclusive state, added that he believes North Korean authorities misunderstood his “curiosity as something more sinister” when he asked about North Korean war veterans.
Anyone who knows me knows that I could not have done the things they had me ‘confess’ to
The US retiree was plucked off a plane on October 26 as he was leaving Pyongyang following a tourist visit. He was eventually freed and arrived back in California on Saturday.
“It wasn’t until I got home on Saturday that I realised what a story I had become in the press here ... I am sorry I caused so many people so many heartaches back home,” he said.
Newman said the North Koreans treated him well during his detention, looking after his health and feeding him well.
But he said: “I was constantly under guard in my hotel, and my interrogator made it clear that if I did not co-operate I could be sentenced to jail for espionage for 15 years.
“Under these circumstances, I read the document with the language they insisted on, because it seemed to be the only way I might get home,” he added.
