Family of American seized in N. Korea pleads for help

Oren Dorell | USA TODAY

The wife of an elderly Korean War veteran seized from a plane in North Korea after touring Pyongyang pleaded for his release Friday and Secretary of State John Kerry called his detention "disturbing."

Lee Newman, wife of Merrill Newman, asked that North Korea "return this 85-year-old grandfather to his anxious, concerned family," according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Newman left his home in Palo Alto, Calif., last month to visit North Korea with a friend, Bob Hamrdla, a retired history professor at Stanford University. They toured parts of the country with official tour guides.

But when departing by plane on Oct. 26 a uniformed North Korean officer boarded, asked Newman for his passport, then told a stewardess Newman had to leave the plane, according to his son, Jeffrey Newman. Hamrdla said his detention "has to be a terrible misunderstanding."

The detention is one of multiple "disturbing choices by the North Koreans," Kerry told MSNBC on Friday. The North Korean government "needs to recognize the dangerous steps it has been taking on many fronts," including the "treatment of its citizens, the start-up of its nuclear reactor, (and) its rededication to a nuclear policy," he said.

The country "needs to figure out where it's heading" and to realize that the USA is not threatening or acting in a bellicose manner against it, he said.

Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico and 2008 presidential candidate in the Democratic primary, told USA TODAY he too has tried to help Newman, who has not been heard from since he was pulled from his flight.

"I contacted the North Koreans a couple of days ago and expressed my concern and they promised to get back to me and they haven't gotten back to me," Richardson said while visiting South Africa for a conference. "There will be more phone calls with other parties and intermediaries in the days ahead."

Richardson helped secure the release American Evan C. Hunziker from North Korea in 1996.

Noel Clay, a spokesman for the State Department, said he could provide little about the case because of privacy concerns. The USA and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations.

The Embassy of Sweden in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang represents the interests of U.S. citizens in that country and is working "to resolve the issue," Clay said.

Americans who travel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea face a restrictive experience unmatched by almost any other tourist destination.

There are many restrictions on people who visit North Korea, according to rules published on the web site for New Korea Tours, a Connecticut-based company.

"You will be under close scrutiny from the guides and security," the site says. "You can only take a photograph of what the guides allow."

Prohibited are photos of poverty, soldiers and checkpoints. Any outdoor excursion, even around the hotel grounds, require permission.

Newman studied Korean before the trip and while there sent postcards describing "good times, good weather and knowledgeable guides," Lee Newman said. Before his detention, Newman had talked to North Korean officials about his experiences during the Korean War, said Jeffrey Newman, who described the conversation as "difficult."

Contributing: The Associated Press