US citizen to face 'judgment' in DPRK court

PYONGYANG - An American citizen will face verdict at the Supreme Court of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official KCNA news agency reported Saturday.

Pae Jun Ho, the defendant, "will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgment," it said.

Pae entered Rason City of the DPRK on November 3 last year for the purpose of tour and was arrested for committing crimes against the DPRK, said the report.

Preliminary inquiry into his crimes was closed, and Pae "admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it."

His crimes were "proved by evidence," the report added.

From January 7 to 10, Former US New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt paid a "private humanitarian" visit to Pyongyang, which was reportedly linked to the release of Pae.

However, Richardson did not elaborate on whether he met Pae or not while commenting the private trip as "a productive and successful one."