The only person born in a North Korean labour camp to have escaped to the West has written an impassioned open letter to Dennis Rodman, the former US basketball star, asking him to use his influence with Kim Jong-un to make him "hear the cries of his people".
Shin Dong-hyuk's letter, published in the Washington Post, comes just days before Mr Rodman is scheduled to travel to North Korea to meet Mr Kim for a third time to prepare for a basketball match billed as "The Big Bang in Pyongyang."
Sponsored by Paddy Power, the Irish online gaming firm, the match is due to take place in January and will pit a group of former professional players from the US against a team of North Korean players that Mr Rodman has trained.
Addressing the letter to "Dear Mr Rodman," Mr Shin wrote that he was born in Camp 14 in the mountains of North Korea. » | Julian Ryall, Tokyo | Wednesday, December 18, 2013
