Pyongyang Says No To Invite U.S. Diplomats Over Detained American

PYONGYANG, May 5 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Sunday that it has no intention to invite U.S. diplomats over the issue of an American citizen who was sentenced 15 years of compulsory labor by the country's Supreme Court on Tuesday.

It is total silly speculation of talking about (Pyongyang taking) the detainee Pae's issue as a "political bargain stake," an unnamed spokesman for the foreign ministry was quoted by the official news agency KCNA as saying.

He stressed that Pae's hostile acts showed again that as long as the United States does not stop its "hostile policy," some Americans' illegal activities against the DPRK would not be exterminated.

--CLIP
"We urge the DPRK authorities to grant Mr. Bae amnesty and immediate release," said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell, whose statement came after the Supreme Court of the DPRK rendered the verdict earlier in the day.

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