North Korea says not to free U.S. citizens until former detainee stops 'babbling'

Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American Christian missionary who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year. (Photo: Courtesy)

Seoul: North Korea will not negotiate with the United States over two American citizens it is holding until former detainee Kenneth Bae stops publicly talking about his time in prison, state media said on Monday.

Criticized over its human rights record for years, North Korea has made use of detained Americans in the past to extract high-profile visits from the United States, with which it has no formal diplomatic relations.