North Korea holds trial of American Matthew Miller

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea held a trial Sunday morning for American Matthew Miller, who was detained in April for violating his tourist status when he entered the country. Details were not immediately available.

The specific charges or punishment he could face were not announced before the trial.

Miller, 24, of Bakersfield, California, is believed to have torn up his visa at Pyongyang’s airport and demanded asylum.

A trial is also expected soon for Jeffrey Fowle, 56, who entered the North as a tourist but was arrested in May for leaving a Bible at a provincial club. A third American, Korean-American missionary Kenneth Bae, is serving out a 15-year sentence for alleged “hostile acts.”

In an earlier interview with The Associated Press, Miller and the other men called for Washington to send a high-ranking U.S. representative to make a direct appeal for their freedom.

The U.S. has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for Bae and other U.S. detainees, but without success.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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