US Calls for Amnesty for Jailed American in North Korea

Sentenced to 15 years of hard labor

The United States plans on Thursday to call on North Korea to grant amnesty to Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen sentenced to 15 years hard labor for what Pyongyang said were crimes against the state, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Bae, 44, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in South Korea. His sentencing came after two months of saber-rattling by Pyongyang that saw North Korea threaten both the United States and South Korea with nuclear war.