North Korea will not release imprisoned American missionary Kenneth Bae until he finishes his sentence of 15 years hard labor, according to a rare interview with a Pyongyang diplomat, NBC News reported. Bae was leading a tour group in the secretive state in Nov. 2012 when he was arrested and jailed for so-called anti-government acts. North Korea's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hyun Hak-bong, told Sky News on Thursday that Bae was being treated well, but suggested that he would not be pardoned before his sentence was complete. Bae was moved to a hospital last summer after his health deteriorated. Hyun denied Bae was being kept in a labor camp, despite describing his sentence as "hard labor" and said he had been given access to medicine.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
