PYONGYANG, North Korea, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- An activist who illegally crossed into North Korea from China to raise awareness of North Korea's human rights abuses likely was arrested, his parents said.
The parents of Korean-American Robert Park, 28, of Tucson, told the San Diego Union-Tribune they hoped for the best but feared he was taken prisoner by North Korean authorities after crossing the frozen Tumen River into the reclusive communist country Christmas Day. His parents said they moved to Encinitas, Calif., several years ago.
"We have to just patiently wait," Pyong Park said in a Union-Tribune article published Sunday. "Wait and see and hope for the best."
Other activists said Park also hoped to deliver a human rights-related message to North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. The activists said Park was the leader of a coalition of more than 100 groups concerned with North Korea's defectors and human rights condition.
The elder Park said the U.S. government has tried to locate his son by working through another country's embassy because the United States does not have a diplomatic presence in North Korea, the San Diego newspaper reported. Park said his son had been in Seoul since June as a missionary for North Korean refugees.
