瑞典外交官称争取被朝鲜关押美国公民获释是“工作重点”

With the denial of consular access to two U.S. citizens detained in North Korea continuing for months, the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which acts on behalf of the United States, said it is currently making all-out efforts to accelerate their safe return home.

Torkel Stiernlöf, Swedish ambassador to Pyongyang, told VOA this week the communist state\'s detention of American citizens is one of the embassy\'s primary concerns.

Over the past year, North Korea locked up two American citizens for crimes against the state. One of the detainees is Kim Dong Chul, a South Korean-born U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in April on charges of espionage and stealing state secrets. Kim has reportedly not been allowed consular access since his arrest.

Kim\'s sentence came on the heels of a 15-year sentence given to Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student suspected of stealing a propaganda poster from a North Korean hotel.

The U.S. State Department is urging U.S. citizens to avoid travel to the North. At least 14 U.S. citizens have been detained in the country in the past 10 years, according to the State Department

瑞典驻平壤大使斯蒂尔尼奧夫本周告诉美国之音说，帮助这些被扣押的美国公民是瑞典大使馆的首要任务之一。

过去一年里，朝鲜以损害国家利益罪判处两位美国公民监禁。出生于韩国的韩裔美国公民金东柱今年四月以间谍罪和盗窃国家机密罪被判处10年劳教。金东柱据报自从被逮捕后从未获得领事探视。

金东柱被判刑之前，来自美国维吉尼亚大学的学生奥托· 瓦姆比尔被控盗窃饭店政治宣传品被判刑15年。

美国国务院呼吁美国公民避免到朝鲜旅行。国务院说，过去10年至少有14名美国人曾被朝鲜扣押。