The Glorious Blog of the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea

[Maximus]

That's what the Chinese would have the world believe - that David went missing in Tiger Leaping Gorge. However....
1) It has been proven with multiple eye witnesses that David hiked through Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Proven...not sure...people say they saw him, but is it possible that they saw a white guy they thought was him?

2) Tiger Leaping Gorge is not a treacherous hike and David was an experienced hiker and backpacker.

yes, and experienced hikers have died on non treacherous trails before

3) David was young and healthy; 24-year olds don't die of natural causes.

Sure probably didnt die naturally.

4) Violent crime is unheard of in that area of China.

ok

5) If eye witnesses are mistaken and they misidentified David in Shangri-La City, it would mark the first time in fifty years a Western tourist died on that trail and the body was not discovered.

Ok, but is having NK agents suddenly come to that city and take someone because they speak korean really more unreasonable that he died in an unlikely fall during his hike?

[myboynoah]

Throw him in the back of a truck. No big deal. Seems far simpler than taking a submarine to the coast of Japan, rowing to shore, arranging for cars, etc.

Who knows if he is really alive or not. But nothing this regime does would shock me.

Hmmm, back of a truck across China without getting noticed, without the American doing anything to get away, without people noticing something unusual.

[Jeff Lebowski]

He's likely looking at the distance between the gorge and North Korea and thinking it isn't reasonable that a white person could be transported against his will over such a long distance without more people knowing about it.

Throw him in the back of a truck. No big deal. Seems far simpler than taking a submarine to the coast of Japan, rowing to shore, arranging for cars, etc.

Who knows if he is really alive or not. But nothing this regime does would shock me.

[myboynoah]

What are you implying? That he was complicit?

He's likely looking at the distance between the gorge and North Korea and thinking it isn't reasonable that a white person could be transported against his will over such a long distance without more people knowing about it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Yeah, but fluency with both languages makes him like the millions of other people who speak both languages. Seems there must be more to this story, but who knows.

What are you implying? That he was complicit?

[Paperback Writer]

While I think it is very possible he was kidnapped, occams razor would say he died hiking and the body just hasn't been found.

That's what the Chinese would have the world believe - that David went missing in Tiger Leaping Gorge. However....
1) It has been proven with multiple eye witnesses that David hiked through Tiger Leaping Gorge.
2) Tiger Leaping Gorge is not a treacherous hike and David was an experienced hiker and backpacker.
3) David was young and healthy; 24-year olds don't die of natural causes.
4) Violent crime is unheard of in that area of China.
5) If eye witnesses are mistaken and they misidentified David in Shangri-La City, it would mark the first time in fifty years a Western tourist died on that trail and the body was not discovered.

The last known contact with David was not in Tiger Leaping Gorge, it was in a Korean restaurant in Shangri-La City the following day after he hiked through the gorge.

[falafel]

Yes, we definitely need to know the hotness of his wife so we can gauge where she falls relative to what he could have landed back in the states.

They probably had to keep him sexually starved for the first few years - no byu71-style oil changes! By that point he'd ready to settle down with the first NoKo women that reached for his peen. Maybe they got someone like Diana Bang?

DB_splash3.jpgDiana B.jpg

[Donuthole]

Yes, we definitely need to know the hotness of his wife so we can gauge where she falls relative to what he could have landed back in the states.

[falafel]

Yeah, but fluency with both languages makes him like the millions of other people who speak both languages. Seems there must be more to this story, but who knows.

The American part is somewhat unique. And he was right there for the taking. Plus he was/is young and unmarried, so they could provide him with a wife and kids, which will definitely tie him to that place.

[Maximus]

While I think it is very possible he was kidnapped, occams razor would say he died hiking and the body just hasn't been found.

[Paperback Writer]

Yeah, but fluency with both languages makes him like the millions of other people who speak both languages. Seems there must be more to this story, but who knows.

Maybe you are right. I hope someday we will all know the full story.

[Applejack]

When dealing with North Korea, things usually get crazy. Just ask Dennis Rodman.

Fluency with Korean and English made David valuable to the North Koreans; plus he was an American with knowledge of American society and culture. I realize it sounds outlandish to us in our world where most everyone can travel at will and has access to the internet and modern media. But North Korea is a closed society, cutoff from the rest of the world. Consider this bizarre episode: the North Koreans kidnapped one of the most famous South Korean movie directors/producers (Shin Sang-ok) in Hong Kong just so they could make movies. Also, David Sneddon was an easy target; college kid trekking alone in rural, Western China.

Yeah, but fluency with both languages makes him like the millions of other people who speak both languages. Seems there must be more to this story, but who knows.

[myboynoah]

Sad story, but I don't know how much confidence I have in that report.

[Paperback Writer]

Crazy story. Why was he a target of the North Koreans? Doesn't seem like his fluency with Korean makes him that valuable.

When dealing with North Korea, things usually get crazy. Just ask Dennis Rodman.

Fluency with Korean and English made David valuable to the North Koreans; plus he was an American with knowledge of American society and culture. I realize it sounds outlandish to us in our world where most everyone can travel at will and has access to the internet and modern media. But North Korea is a closed society, cutoff from the rest of the world. Consider this bizarre episode: the North Koreans kidnapped one of the most famous South Korean movie directors/producers (Shin Sang-ok) in Hong Kong just so they could make movies. Also, David Sneddon was an easy target; college kid trekking alone in rural, Western China.

[Applejack]

Thanks for posting that update. I've always felt that David Sneddon is alive and have hoped for his safe return. His parents, Roy and Kathleen, are extraordinary people.

Crazy story. Why was he a target of the North Koreans? Doesn't seem like his fluency with Korean makes him that valuable.