Mother of jailed American Kenneth Bae meets ailing son in Pyongyang
Kenneth Bae - who was jailed for 'hostile acts' - reports that his health is 'still not good'
North Korea has allowed the mother of Kenneth Bae to visit her ailing son almost a year after the American tour operator and missionary was detained and sentenced to 15 years hard labour for "hostile acts".
Myunghee Bae saw her son at a hospital in Pyongyang where he's being treated for various ailments. She said he had told her his health was improving but was "still not good".
"I came because I am worried that my son's health has worsened," she said when she arrived at the airport. "I really wanted to see my son." It is believed she will get to see him again during her five-day visit.
Bae said her trip had been approved by Washington.
In a video posted to the family's website before she left her home in the US city of Seattle, Myunghee Bae said her heart was "broken into pieces" when she saw a prison interview with her son from July. "He looked so different and he lost so much weight," she said. "I could not believe that prisoner was my son."
Bae was arrested while on a tour in a northeastern North Korean city last November and sentenced after a trial on April 30, further straining relations between the US and the government of Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has periodically detained Americans, sometimes seeking to barter their release for concessions from the US.