Matthew Todd Miller

Matthew Todd Miller was raised in Bakersfield, California. He is the youngest of four sons of Bill and K.C. Miller, both petroleum engineers, and is a 2008 graduate of Bakersfield High School.{{cite news|title=California man detained in North Korea described as shy, smart; he says he fears prison |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-man-detained-in-north-korea-described-as-shy-smart-he-says-he-fears-prison |work=Associated Press |date=20 March 2015|via=Fox News}} The Associated Press reported that Miller went to South Korea in 2010 to visit one of his brothers, an F-35 test pilot, who was stationed there at the time with the United States Air Force. Miller took a job teaching English and had learned some Korean in the process.

According to North Korean state-run media, Miller entered North Korea alone on April 10, 2014, on a tourist visa arranged by US-based tour operator Uri Tours.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/world/asia/north-korea.html|title=American Held in North Korea Traveled Solo, Tour Firm Says|last=Choe|first=Sang-hun|authorlink=Choe Sang-hun|date=April 28, 2014|publisher=|accessdate=June 15, 2017|newspaper=New York Times}} Initial reports said that he tore up the visa upon arrival at the airport and declared his intent to seek political asylum. He was arrested for "unruly behaviour".{{cite news|first1=Sang-hun|last1=Choe|title=North Korea Says It Will Put American on Trial|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/world/asia/north-korea-says-it-will-put-american-on-trial.html|work=The New York Times|date=September 6, 2014|accessdate=September 14, 2014}}

Speaking from an undisclosed location in North Korea on August 1, 2014, Miller was permitted to give interviews to two American news organizations. He told reporters that he was being treated well while in custody, though the Associated Press noted the possibility that his comments may have been coerced. He stated he was expecting to be tried imminently, and asked the United States government to send an envoy to intervene on his behalf.

Miller was charged under Article 64 of the North Korean criminal code concerning acts of espionage, and was put on trial on September 14, 2014. He was swiftly convicted and sentenced to six years of hard labor (euphemistically termed "labor re-education") for committing "hostile acts".{{cite news|title=North Korea sentences U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years hard labor|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-idUSKBN0H908920140914|agency=Reuters|accessdate=September 14, 2014}} Miller had no lawyer during the 90-minute hearing, described as a "show trial" by The Washington Post, and authorities indicated that there was no possibility of appeal.

Although earlier reports indicated that Miller sought political asylum in North Korea, the prosecution argued that this was a ruse intended to disguise Miller's real intention of committing espionage. According to the court, Miller admitted to having the "wild ambition" of experiencing conditions in prison to secretly investigate and expose the country's dim human rights situation.{{cite news|title=North Korea Sentences U.S. Man To 6 Years of Hard Labor|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/14/matthew-miller-sentenced_n_5818066.html|accessdate=September 14, 2014|agency=Associated Press|date=September 14, 2014|work=The Huffington Post}}[http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-calif-man-jailed-snowden-north-korea-20140920-story.html California man jailed in North Korea], latimes.com; accessed November 8, 2014. Miller later revealed that he was curious about the country and simply wanted to talk to North Korean people and ask them questions beyond what he could as a tourist. According to Miller, he achieved his goal while imprisoned. Nevertheless, Miller says when he issued an apology as part of the court process, he did so with sincerity.

On November 8, 2014, Miller was released after eight months in North Korea, and allowed to leave along with one additional American prisoner, Kenneth Bae, thanks to an intervention by James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence.{{cite press release|title=RETURN OF U.S. CITIZENS FROM NORTH KOREA|url=https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2014/item/1137-return-of-u-s-citizens-from-north-korea|date=November 8, 2014|access-date=June 13, 2017|publisher=Office of the Director of National Intelligence}}{{cite web|agency=Associated Press|title=US says North Korea releases 2 detained Americans|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-says-north-korea-releases-2-detained-americans/2014/11/08/fd60be12-675b-11e4-ab86-46000e1d0035_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111045857/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-says-north-korea-releases-2-detained-americans/2014/11/08/fd60be12-675b-11e4-ab86-46000e1d0035_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 11, 2014|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=November 8, 2014}}

After returning to the U.S., Miller told reporters he went to North Korea intending to get arrested, stating that "My main fear was that they would not arrest me when I arrived". Initially North Korean authorities had refused to arrest him and sought to return him on the next flight, but Miller refused. Miller had brought a notebook into North Korea incorrectly claiming he was a computer hacker involved with WikiLeaks and having attempted to access files at U.S. military bases in South Korea.{{cite news |url=http://www.nknews.org/2014/11/matthew-millers-excellent-adventure-in-north-korea/ |title=Matthew Miller's excellent adventure in North Korea |author=Nate Thayer |publisher=NK News |date=November 14, 2014 |accessdate=November 18, 2014}} He later assessed that this material was never taken seriously by the North Korean authorities, prompting them to ask him the real reasons behind his visit.

• Human rights in North Korea
• List of foreign nationals detained in North Korea

{{reflist|30em}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jr9BzRNDMs Video interview with CNN]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Matthew Todd}}

Category:1989 births

Category:Living people

Category:People from Bakersfield, California

Category:American people imprisoned in North Korea

Category:2014 in North Korea

Category:Bakersfield High School alumni