- Kenneth Bae says he will probably end up back in the hospital
- He makes the comments in a conversation with a Swedish diplomat
- North Korea has held Bae, a Korean-American, since November 2012
- Pyongyang has canceled an invitation to a U.S. envoy to visit and discuss the case
(CNN) — Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American being held in North Korea, says he is worried about his health after authorities moved him back into a labor camp following a stay in a hospital.
“I know if I continue for the next several months here, I will probably be sent back to the hospital again,” Bae says in a video of a conversation with a Swedish diplomat recorded Friday.
Footage of the conversation in the labor camp was released by Chosun Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan that has been given access to Bae in the past.
Wearing a gray jacket with the prisoner number “103″ marked on it, Bae tells the Swedish diplomat, Cecilia Anderberg, that he thinks he’s already lost as much as 10 pounds in weight since he was transferred back to the camp a few weeks ago.
He expresses hope that North Korea will allow a U.S. envoy to visit for talks about his case.
But those hopes were dashed over the weekend.
A State Department official said Sunday that North Korea had rescinded its invitation to the envoy, Ambassador Robert King, without giving a reason.
Bae, of Lynwood, Washington, was arrested in November 2012 in Rason, along North Korea’s northeastern coast. Pyongyang sentenced him last year to 15 years of hard labor, accusing him of planning to bring down the government through religious activities.
He is widely reported to have been carrying out Christian missionary work in North Korea.
Bae, 45, operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North Korea, according to his family, who have described him as a devout Christian.
CNN’s Tim Schwarz contributed to this report.
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Kenneth Bae worried about his health in North Korean camp
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