DPRK to Try U.S. Citizen for Illegal Entry

2010-03-22 19:18:52 Xinhua Web Editor: Zhang Xu

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Monday that it will try a U.S. citizen who allegedly entered the country illegally, the official KCNA news agency reported.

The U.S. citizen, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, was born in 1979, and lived in Boston, Massachusetts.

The DPRK authorities decided to indict him for trial "as his crime has been confirmed," said the KCNA.

It is unknown whether Gomes was the U.S. national who was detained for illegal entry on Jan. 25.

Separately, the DPRK authorities on Feb. 5 released 28-year-old U.S. missionary Robert Park, who was detained for illegal entry last December.

Two female U.S. journalists, who were arrested for crossing the DPRK border without permission, flew back home together with former U.S. President Bill Clinton in August 2009 after he paid a 20-hour private visit to Pyongyang and met top DPRK leader Kim Jong Il.

The DPRK detained four South Koreans for illegal entry, the KCNA said on Feb. 26.

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