How loony are the NoKos? They actually believe people are going to believe an apology from an elderly American veteran of the Korean War imprisoned for committing "war crimes."

CNN:

An 85-year-old American man detained in North Korea has apologized for his actions, including for killing troops and civilians during the Korean War, North Korea's state-run news agency reported Saturday.

KCNA released a statement it claimed was from Merrill Newman -- a Palo Alto, California man who, his family says, has been held in North Korea for more than 30 days.

"After I killed so many civilians and (North Korean) soldiers and destroyed strategic objects in the DPRK during the Korean War, I committed indelible offensive acts against the DPRK government and Korean people," Newman said, according to the "apology" reported by KCNA.

His statement ends: "If I go back to (the) USA, I will tell the true features of the DPRK and the life the Korean people are leading."

In addition to this statement, KCNA ran a story alleging Newman came to North Korea with a tourist group in October and afterward "perpetrated acts of infringing upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK and slandering its socialist system."

This story claimed that Newman tried to "look for spies and terrorists who conducted espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK." Investigators determined that, as a member of the U.S. military, he "masterminded espionage and subversive activities ... and, in this course, he was involved in the killings of service personnel of the Korean People's Army and innocent civilians."

"The investigation clearly proved Newman's hostile acts against the DPRK, and they were backed by evidence," the KCNA story added. "He admitted all his crimes and made an apology for them."

Until now, Pyongyang had not explained why it was holding Newman.

The man is a hostage, pure and simple. No doubt they will release him for a few hundred tons of food and other staples that the starving Korean people need to survive.

As for the "apology" - we understand, Mr. Newman. Under similar circumstances, any one of us would have done the same thing.

Thomas Lifson adds:

The intended object of this apology is not Americans, but North Koreans.  I am currently reading Bradley K. Martin's excellent book on North Korea, Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, based on extensive reporting in that country, which Martin has been visiting since 1979. He makes it clear that the political system is actually a religion, and that while people may harbor some doubts, for the most part, they buy in to the seemingly bizarre propaganda presented to them. If for no other reason than not doing so is very dangerous. The mind becomes numbed.

Now that North Koreans have some access to news of the outside world mostly via DVD players smuggled in from China, and also via smart phones that work in the area along the Yalu River separating North Korea from China, the propaganda blanket may have some tears in it. That makes all the more important personal testimonies such as those of the unfortunate Mr. Newman.