North Korea's Disregard for Human Life

In recent weeks, North Korea has rattled its sabers with more menace. In addition to a recent nuclear test, the hermit kingdom may possess mid-range nukes. More such tests are scheduled in the near future. It’s a threat so worrisome that even Barack Obama suddenly became an advocate for a strong missile defense system. But lost in this high diplomatic drama is the nation’s threat to life. North Korea measures the value of a human life by how much it can help the state.

Just today, North Korea sentenced naturalized U.S. citizen Kim Dong Chul to 10 years of hard labor after Kim allegedly confessed he was a spy for the U.S. and South Korean governments. Last month, U.S. student Otto Warmbier, 21, was captured for attempting to bring a propaganda sign back home. It’s all an effort by North Korea to exert leverage upon the United States.

But let’s not forget the case of David Sneddon. While hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan Province of China in 2004, Sneddon disappeared. The Chinese government first told Sneddon’s family he likely fell into a river while hiking and died. But eyewitness testimony emerged saying Sneddon completed his trek. A crazy theory emerged: Sneddon, who spoke both Korean and English, could have been captured by the North Korean government in order to train its intelligence community.

In February, Sens. Orrin Hatch, Deb Fischer, Ben Sasse and Marco Rubio introduced aresolution directing the State Department and U.S. intelligence to more vigorously investigate what happened to Sneddon, who would currently be 35 years old. Circumstantial evidence points to the theory Sneddon is still alive. First, the Chinese government is known to help North Korean police, even capturing and sending back North Koreans who try to flee the country. Second, North Korea has abducted foreigners ever since the 1970s to make them teach its intelligence community language and customs they could better use to spy. North Korea even did this with a U.S. soldier who deserted to the country in the 1960s. In this case, Sneddon was regarded by North Korea as more than just a political pawn. His language skills made him more valuable to the communist state, and if it captured him, they wouldn’t be telling.