An American man has illegally entered North Korea and blasted U.S. government policies at a press conference in the communist state, a news report said Sunday.
CNN reported that the man, a 29-year-old named Arturo Pierre Martinez, admitted to committing a crime by illegally entering North Korea in his press statement. CNN said Martinez also said he was “extremely grateful for having been pardoned from the punishments given to violators of these laws, and for the most generous reception I have received.”
According to CNN, North Korea said Martinez entered the country in November, only days after U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper negotiated the release of two American detainees, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller.
CNN said Martinez claimed he first tried to cross over from South Korea’s Han River and tried again from the Yalu River in China. The report said Martinez’s legal status in Pyongyang is unknown and it’s not yet clear if he’s free to leave the country.
At his press conference, Martinez criticized American politicians and police, along with its electoral and prison systems. He also discussed unidentified flying objects and what he said was the Western media’s unfair portrayal of North Korea.
Martinez is bipolar, according to his mother, Patricia Eugenia Martinez. In her own statement, published by CNN, she said, “I am appreciative to the North Korean authorities for pardoning my son and releasing him. I look forward to spending Christmas with him after they release him.”
She told CNN that she learned from Martinez’s press conference statement that he was being released. (Yonhap)
