Pyongyang has lauded to the US press their capture of American citizens in North Korea. As of the moment, the belligerent country has detained three US citizens, which they've placed in inhospitable labor camps. Washington has yet to issue a statement over the detained Americans, but Trump and his cabinet have conducted meetings over North Korea after the issue broke out.
Who are these American citizens and why are they in North Korea?
The first US citizen to be detained was Kim Dong-Chui, a 62-year-old from South Korea. He is a naturalized US citizen and was sentenced to 10 years doing hard labor for allegedly spying on North Korea while he was doing aid work inside the country.
He was arrested last January before the start of the current tension in the area.
The next US citizen arrested is Otto Warmbier. A 21-year-old tourist who was arrested for trying to take home as a souvenir a propaganda sign with Kim Jong-Il's image on it. He was charged with theft and being hostile against the state for harming propaganda signage with the picture of Kim Jong-Il. He was sentenced to do 15 years of hard labor.
The third US citizen to be arrested is Kim Sang-Duk. He is a US citizen and professor at the Yanbian University of Science and Technology in Yanji, China. Charges against Kim Sang-Duk were not revealed.
What will North Korea do with them?
It is expected that North Korea will use these people as leverage against the US and expect it to force Washington to back out from the Korean peninsula.
However, it is safe to conclude that Trump and his cabinet will not succumb to Pyongyang's move to shake free from the US military and economic stranglehold.
The latest US statement against North Korea is for it to cease from its destabilizing actions and rhetoric. Washington said that the US doesn't want a military conflict with North Korea.
However, the appropriate response will be made to threats.
China has shown its stand over the Korean crisis and doesn't desire Kim Jong-Il's ambition to turn his country into a nuclear state. Beijing reiterated to Pyongyang that exports of essential goods might be affected if its nuclear program continues. China also will not react to any preemptive strike done by the US against North Korean targets but reminds the Pentagon that such a move can lead to a much larger conflict in the area.
Pyongyang continues to be defiant against the US, especially after boasting an expanding nuclear program and the ability to lay waste to the entire North American continent with one super-might strike. US response to this is "we are ready."
