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N. Korea sentences two S. Korean detainees to hard labor for life

June 23, 2015
Kim Jong-un and his administration deny accusations of human rights violations from the United Nations. (Yonhap/KCNA)

Kim Jong-un and his administration deny accusations of human rights violations from the United Nations. (Yonhap/KCNA)

North Korea revealed on Tuesday that it has sentenced two South Korean detainees to hard labor for the rest of their lives as a result of spying for both the U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies.

Kim Kuk-gi and Choe Chun-gil were charged with espionage according to the North’s Korean Central Broadcasting station.

“The North’s supreme court held a court session for the two South Koreans who were arrested for suspected spying for the United States and the South,” it said. “Kim and Choe were sentenced to hard labor for life on charges of spying.”

There are currently two other South Koreans detained in the North including a missionary named Kim Jung-wook and 21-year-old New York University student Joo Won-moon.

North Korea’s announcement comes on the same day that the United Nations opened a human rights monitoring office in Seoul.