Detained US veteran deported from DPRK

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Saturday that it had deported a US Korean War veteran accused of hostile acts against the country under the guise of a tourist.

Since Merrill Edward Newman had admitted to his wrongdoing and apologized, the DPRK deported him from the country from "a humanitarian viewpoint," the official KCNA news agency reported.

Newman, 85, from Palo Alto, northern California, had apologized for alleged crimes during the 1950-53 Korean War and "hostile acts" against the DPRK during a recent trip.

"He masterminded espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK and in this course he was involved in killings of service personnel of the Korean People's Army and innocent civilians," the KCNA said in a report last Saturday.

Newman had been held in Pyongyang since DPRK officials took him off a plane that was scheduled to leave the country on October 26, media reports said.