American 'asylum seeker' sentenced to hard labor in North Korea

For months he was held captive by the North Korean regime, not even sure what he would be charged with.

Then in one fell swoop, American citizen Matthew Todd Miller was convicted of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor, North Korean state-run media reported Sunday.

While Miller's fate is now clear, the circumstances surrounding his alleged crime remain murky.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the 24-year-old arrived in North Korea as a tourist on April 10 and ripped up his tourist visa, shouted his desire to seek asylum and said "he came to the DPRK after choosing it as a shelter."

DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Earlier this month, Miller told CNN's Will Ripley that he "prepared to violate the law of DPRK before coming here. And I deliberately committed my crime."

But Miller didn't elaborate on what his "crime" was. He said he wouldn't learn of his charges until he went to trial.

It's unclear whether his statements were made freely or under coercion.

At a trial that lasted about 90 minutes, the court said Miller, aged 24, tore up his tourist visa at Pyongyang’s airport upon arrival on April 10 and admitted to having the “wild ambition” of experiencing prison life so he could secretly investigate North Korea’s human rights situation.

Earlier, it had been believed that Miller had sought asylum when he entered North Korea. During the trial, however, the prosecution argued that was a ruse and that Miller also falsely claimed to have secret information about the U.S. military in South Korea on his iPad and iPod.

Original Quill wrote:The better question is, which back story do you disbelieve?