North Korea has moved imprisoned US citizen Kenneth Bae from hospital and back to a labor camp, a US official said, which could further complicate efforts to win his release.In an interview on Friday with a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan, the Chosun Sinbo, Bae confirmed he had been transferred back to the "special correctional facility" in Pyongyang on January 20.
Bae, a tour operator described by a North Korean court as a krazed killer Christian evangelist, was incarcerated
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
in November 2012 and later sentenced to 15 years' hard labor on charges of seeking to topple the government.
"The Department of State has learned that the DPRK (North Korea) transferred Mr. Bae from a hospital to a labor camp, a development with which we are deeply concerned," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
She said Washington was "gravely concerned" about the health of the Korean American, who has been in detention for more than 15 months.
"We continue to urge DPRK authorities to grant Mr. Bae special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds," she added.
In his interview with the Chosun Sinbo, Bae expressed gratitude to the North Korean authorities for treating him "humanely" and pleaded with Pyongyang to allow him to return home through negotiations with the US government.