Free Republic

ATLANTA - Former United States President Jimmy Carter released a statement Thursday after the recent comments made back and forth between United States officials and North Korea. Here is the statement: ======================================================= "The harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United States and North Korea. In addition to restraining the warlike rhetoric, our leaders need to encourage talks between North Korea and other countries, especially China and Russia. The recent UN Security Council unanimous vote for...

Boston resident Aijalon M. Gomes, 38, captured international headlines in 2010 when he was imprisoned in North Korea for seven months; he died on Nov. 17 in San DiegoA man held captive in a North Korean prison in 2010 and freed with the help of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter died in San Diego over the weekend after being found ablaze in a field. Aijalon M. Gomes, 38, had recently relocated to San Diego from Boston. On Friday night, around 11:30 p.m., an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer was driving westbound on Pacific Highway near SeaWorld Drive when he spotted...

(LEAD) N. Korea threatens to apply 'wartime laws' on detained U.S. national By Sam Kim SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea threatened Thursday to apply "wartime laws" on a U.S. national it is holding, citing what it called U.S. hostilities against the communist country over the sinking of a South Korean warship. Earlier this year, a North Korean court sentenced Aijalon Gomes, a 30-year-old American, to eight years in a labor camp for illegal entry on Jan. 25. The communist state's official Korean Central News Agency said its authorities are considering additional measures against Gomes "from the perspective of...