Kim Sang-duk (; born c. 1959), also known as Tony Kim, is a Korean-American professor who was detained in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

for 382 days. On May 9, 2018, it was reported that Kim was released from custody.

Life and detention

Before being detained, Kim taught accounting at the Business Administration School of

Yanbian University of Science and Technology The Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST; , ), is a research university in the city of Yanji, Jilin, China. YUST is the first Korean Chinese joint-venture university in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and first intern ...

(YUST) in the northeastern Chinese city of

Yanji Yanji (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연길, ''Yeon-gil;'' Hangul: 옌지, ''Yenji;'' alternately romanized as Yenki) is a county-level city in the east of China's Jilin Province, and is the seat of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Its population i ...

, near the

China–North Korea border The China–North Korea border is the international border separating the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). It runs for 1,352 km (840 mi) from the estuary of the Yalu River in th ...

. According to

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

Korea reports, he was a regional director in charge of transporting foreign aid materials to several areas affected by the

2016 floods Sixteen or 16 may refer to: *16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 *one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016 Films * ''Pathinaaru'' or ''Sixteen'', a 2010 Tamil film * ''Sixteen'' (1943 film), a 1943 Argentine film d ...

in North Korea, and his humanitarian work has gone on for more than 10 years. On April 22, 2017, Kim and his wife were detained, and Kim was subsequently arrested at Sunan International Airport in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

as he was waiting to board a flight. In May 2017, Kim was allegedly accused of "committing criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn orth Korea" Kim was one of three Americans who were released from detention in North Korea in May 2018 in advance of a U.S.-North Korea summit. The others are Kim Dong-chul and Kim Hak-Song. At the time of his arrest, Kim had completed a one-month assignment as a guest lecturer in

international finance International finance (also referred to as international monetary economics or international macroeconomics) is the branch of financial economics broadly concerned with monetary and macroeconomic interrelations between two or more countries. Inter ...

and management at the

Pyongyang University of Science and Technology Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) is North Korea's first privately funded university. It is founded, operated, and partly funded by associations and people outside the country. PUST was jointly planned and constructed by forc ...

(PUST), a YUST sister institution, according to the chancellor of PUST, Park Chan-mo. North Korean authorities did not immediately announce the reason for Kim's arrest. He had not been returned to the United States when the Olympic Games occurred in Pyeongchang South Korea during 2018, although a spokesperson for the United States State Department informed the news media: "We are working to see U.S. citizens who are detained in North Korea come home as soon as possible."

Release

On May 9, 2018, several news outlets reported that Kim and fellow American detainees Kim Dong Chul and Kim Hak Song had been granted amnesty following a meeting between Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...

to discuss details of the planned summit between Kim and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

. Kim Sang-duk's 'family expressed gratitude and credited Trump for engaging directly with North Korea' upon learning of his release. The three men, alongside Pompeo, landed at Andrews Air Force Base shortly before 3 am eastern on May 10, thereby concluding a 17-month struggle by the United States to secure their release.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Sang-duk Living people American people imprisoned abroad American people of Korean descent Prisoners and detainees of North Korea 1959 births

Life and detention

Release

See also

References