N Korea expels BBC scribe

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un claps during the first congress of the Workers’ Party in 36 years, in Pyongyang. Reuters

Pyongyang, May 9

North Korea expelled a BBC journalist on Monday over his reporting, the broadcaster and a North Korean official said, as a large group of foreign media members visited the isolated country to cover a rare ruling party congress.

Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was detained on Friday as he was about to leave the country and taken away for eight hours of questioning and “made to sign a statement”, the network reported.

The British journalist, accompanied by a BBC producer and cameraman, arrived in Beijing on Monday evening after a flight from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.

“We're obviously very glad to be out. We're going to go and talk to our bosses now. But just relieved to be out,” Wingfield-Hayes told reporters at the airport before being driven off in a car, along with his colleagues.

Wingfield-Hayes had "distorted facts and realities" in his coverage, North Korean official O Ryong Il said in announcing that the reporter, who is based in Tokyo, was being expelled and would never be let in again.


(Source : tribuneindia.com)

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