CLEVELAND: An Ohio man detained in North Korea for nearly half a year got his job back with a city agency, but on condition he not travel again to a country where he could be easily detained, his attorney said yesterday.
Jeffrey Fowle, 56, was released from his position at the city of Moraine’s Streets Department last month because of his prolonged detention. He reached a deal with the southwestern Ohio city to return to his post, according to an agreement on Monday with the city supplied to Reuters by his attorney, Timothy Tepe.
One of three Americans recently detained in North Korea, Fowle returned to his home near Dayton on October 22. He was arrested in May for leaving a Bible at a sailor’s club in the North Korean city of Chongjin, where he was traveling as a tourist.
Fowle can return to his job on Monday, but he agreed as part of his employment arrangement that his decision to travel to North Korea “seriously called into question (his) judgment, leadership skill, and priorities, and have raised serious concern about his ability to carry out his job.”
The agreement signed by Fowle stipulates that he not travel where “the predictable result of which could include extended incarceration,” the agreement stated.
Isolated North Korea, a hereditary dictatorship centered on the ruling Kim family, is particularly sensitive to religious proselytising.
The North Korean government has often tried to use the release of foreign captives as a way to build domestic political support for its leaders. It also has welcomed thousands of tourists a year who have visited without incident. Reuters
