The Mysterious Robert Park Email

Having just recently turned 52, German-born doctor Norbert Vollertsen continues – from his adopted homeland of Seoul – to fight the North Korea human rights good fight. Recently, that entailed the forwarding of an e-mail he claims to have received from Robert Park, the AZ activist who crossed over into the Hermit Kingdom on Christmas Day, 2009, only to be released February 5th.

Seemingly dated February 25th, the Park e-mail read as follows:

Am very sorry to you. This is my first direct email – I have been tormented and I apologize for my insane behaviour lately. A friend has been managing my email account.

I don’t call people easily because of my spiritual condition – I’ve had bouts of rage and intense temptations to kill myself (because of inner torture) since leaving DPRK. Here is what I need by tomorrow evening, if you can help me:

- DPRK flag, lighter;
- A notebook of picture evidence of the North Korean Human Rights Crisis and Genocide (I will be going through the pages while speaking in the interview);
- Two Signs:
“CHINA – INTERNATIONAL LAWBREAKER” and
“CHINA – STOP MURDERING REFUGEES”

The imminent media appearance hinted at by Park in the forwarded e-mail was, apparently, a Friday February 26th press conference in New York City. But per reporter @bostonsunny (via the Seoul-based organization Pax Korean), Park decided at the last minute to cancel this event.

So there you have it: the hint of a first non-KCNA sanctioned public communication from Robert Park, followed by silence. Did he encounter more health problems (a February 24th news report quoted Park‘s father as stating that he was under the care in L.A. of “many doctors”)? Has he chosen instead to focus on a possible book deal, like Laura Ling and Euna Lee who – save for a September 2nd, 2009 Op Ed in the @latimes – are separately holding their experiences for hardcover consumption? We will most likely soon find out.

Update – 03/05/10: Although an uncorroborated 2/27 blog item that claimed Robert Park was being held against his will in a Long Beach mental hospital was removed at the request of the Park family 3/2, the AZ Reverend who ordained Park – John Benson – has now told Voice of America
something similar. The family however, via its official site FreeRobertPark.org, has yet to confirm any these details.

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Filed under: Activists