Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American Christian missionary who has been detained in North Korea for more than a year, appears before a limited number of media outlets in Pyongyang in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 20, 2014.... 
 
 U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY) (front), a Korean War veteran, speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 24, 2010. 
 
 The last surviving members of the U.S. Congress to have served in the Korean War have sent a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asking him to release imprisoned American missionary Kenneth Bae. 
 
 North Korea in December released 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill E. Newman, a former U.S. special forces soldier who had been held since October after visiting the country as a tourist, and the members of Congress mentioned that case in seeking Bae's freedom. 
 
 "You have done the right thing by releasing a fellow Korean War veteran, Merrill E. Newman, to return home, you would be making further progress on the humanitarian front by freeing Kenneth Bae to reunite with his family," stated a copy of the letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. 
 
 The congressmen, Democrat Charles Rangel from New York, Democrat John Conyers Jr. from Michigan, Republican Sam Johnson from Texas and Republican Howard Coble from North Carolina, are members of the House of Representatives. 
 
 Bae, 45, has been held for more than a year by North Korea, which convicted him of trying to overthrow the state and sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor. Rangel and a congressman from Washington state, where Bae lived, invited his family to attend President Barack Obama's state of the union speech last month. 
 
 Bae's sister, Terri Chung, said in an interview she was grateful to the four congressmen for calling attention to her brother's situation. 
 
 "When there's more awareness of Kenneth's plight, I think that's always a good thing," she said. 
 
 Chung said her family has not spoken to Bae since a December 29 phone call, one of three that North Korea has allowed Bae to have with his family since his detention in November 2012. Bae's mother was permitted to visit him in Pyongyang in October. 
 
 FAMILY REUNIONS 
 
 A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last month that an offer had been made to send U.S. North Korean rights envoy Robert King to Pyongyang to secure Bae's release. King has not been sent to North Korea on that mission, and how North Korea responded to the offer is not clear. 
 
 Rangel had previously asked North Korea to free Bae in a letter sent last year that also pleaded for the release of Newman, who was still being detained at the time. 
 
 The letter from the four congressmen was dated Tuesday and came as North and South Korea agreed to allow some families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War to hold brief reunions, despite a campaign by Pyongyang demanding that Seoul cancel planned war games with the United States. 
 
 In their letter, the congressmen urged Kim Jong-un to extend the reunion effort to Korean-Americans. 
 
 "Nothing is more tragic than the separation of families and loved ones," the letter stated. "We encourage you to also create a pathway to allow some 100,000 Korean-Americans to meet with their divided families in the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) before too many pass away." 
 
 At a meeting, officials from North and South Korea agreed that reunions between families from the two countries would take place on February 20 to February 25 in Mount Kumgang, just north of their border, South Korea's Unification Ministry said. 
 
 At previous reunions, about 100 families have been allowed to meet relatives on the other side for fleeting moments before being sent back to their respective homes. 
 
 (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Steve Orlofsky) ||||| February 7, 2014 at 6:06 AM 
 
 Former Washington resident Kenneth Bae gained an important ally on Thursday when President Barack Obama personally called for his release from a North Korean labor camp. 
 
 The president mentioned Bae in his remarks during Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast, which can be viewed at about the 16:39 mark in this video from the White House’s YouTube channel: 
 
 The Seattle Times has written numerous editorials (including this latest one posted Jan. 26) encouraging the U.S. State Department to help Bae’s family, based in Edmonds and Lynnwood. The 45-year-old American citizen was captured in November 2012 while guiding tourists through North Korea. 
 
 Obama’s attention to this issue can only help. On Wednesday, Reuters reports the four last surviving members of Congress to serve in the Korean War wrote a letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asking for Bae’s release on humanitarian grounds. 
 
 Hopefully, the North Koreans take notice. 
 
 Here’s the transcript of Obama’s remarks, provided by the White House: 
 
 And finally, as we build the future we seek, let us never forget those who are persecuted today, among them Americans of faith. We pray for Kenneth Bae, a Christian missionary who’s been held in North Korea for 15 months, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. His family wants him home. And the United States will continue to do everything in our power to secure his release because Kenneth Bae deserves to be free. 
 
 Last week, I blogged for Opinion Northwest about Bae’s sister and mother attending the president’s State of the Union address. On Thursday, the family released a gracious statement responding to the president’s remarks. Here’s the full text of what they sent in an email: ||||| Story highlights Mother of Kenneth Bae arrives in North Korea to visit her son, says family friend 
 
 Bae has been sentenced to 15 years in North Korean labor camp 
 
 His mother says she was alarmed by her son's appearance in a July prison interview 
 
 The mother of Kenneth Bae, the American imprisoned in North Korea, has arrived in the country to visit her ailing son, according to a friend of the family. 
 
 Earlier this year, Bae, a Korean-American, was sentenced to 15 years in a North Korean labor camp for what the government called "hostile acts." 
 
 His family has not been able to see him for almost a year since his November 3 arrest in North Korea. 
 
 "As a mother, I worry endlessly about his health," said his mother, Myunghee Bae in a videotaped statement. "I want to see him, comfort and hold him in person. I miss him so much." 
 
 Bae, of Lynwood, Washington, said that she pleaded with the North Korean authorities to let her visit her son, and expressed gratitude for granting permission. She is expected to be in North Korea for five days with the goal of encouraging her son who has become ill, according to a website dedicated to Kenneth Bae's freedom. 
 
 JUST WATCHED Rodman: Jailed American not my problem Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Rodman: Jailed American not my problem 01:36 
 
 JUST WATCHED Imprisoned American's sister speaks out Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Imprisoned American's sister speaks out 03:10 
 
 JUST WATCHED Imprisoned American's health failing Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Imprisoned American's health failing 02:15 
 
 JUST WATCHED Sister: Kenneth Bae is too weak to work Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sister: Kenneth Bae is too weak to work 02:55 
 
 In a prison interview released in July, Kenneth Bae had spoken of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, fatty liver and a back problem. He looked noticeably thinner and wore a blue prison garment streaked with sweat and dirt. 
 
 His family say he has lost more than 50 pounds. 
 
 "My heart was broken into pieces when his prison interview was released on July 3," said his mother, in her statement. "His appearance was very shocking, he looked so different, and he lost so much weight. I could not believe that prisoner was my son." 
 
 In previous interviews, Chung has said that her brother suffers from health problems including severe back and leg pain, kidney stones, dizziness, blurred vision and loss of vision. He was already dealing with diabetes. 
 
 His family and friends have asked North Korea for mercy and the United States for help in securing his release. 
 
 U.S. officials have repeatedly called on North Korea to release Bae. In August, the two countries appeared close, but North Korea rescinded an invitation to a U.S. envoy. Ambassador Robert King, President Barack Obama's special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, had been expected to fly to Pyongyang to try to win his freedom. 
 
 In previous instances, North Korea has released Americans in its custody after a visit by some U.S. dignitary -- in recent cases, former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. 
 
 Bae was arrested last year after arriving as a tourist in Rason City, a port in the northeastern corner of North Korea. His sister says that Bae is the owner of a tour company and was in North Korea for work. 
 
 The North Korean government accuses Bae of setting up bases in China for the purpose of "toppling" the North Korean government, encouraging North Korean citizens to bring down the government and conducting a "malignant smear campaign." 
 
 The country's state media also says that Bae had planned what it called a "Jericho operation" to bring down North Korea through religious activities. They have suggested that Bae could have been sentenced to death, but avoided it through "candid confession of his crimes." 
 
 On the eve of her trip, his mother looked solemnly into the camera, expressing her anxiety. 
 
 "It's hard to describe the agony of the past year since my son has been imprisoned in the DPRK," she said in a released statement. "I spend every day thinking about him and praying for his homecoming."
– US missionary Kenneth Bae has been sent back to the grind of a labor camp in North Korea. The State Department informed his family that the 45-year-old was discharged from the hospital—where he had gone after dropping 50 pounds—and ordered back to a prison work camp, reports AP. "He's back to eight-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week hard labor," says his sister in Washington state. "We can't help but be concerned about that." Bae, who ran tour groups to the country, got sentenced in 2012 to 15 years of hard labor for crimes against the government. His case got two high-profile boosts yesterday: President Obama mentioned him at the National Prayer Breakfast, notes the Seattle Times, and the four remaining members of Congress who served in the Korean War sent a letter to Pyongyang asking for his release, reports Reuters. (The four are Charles Rangel, D-NY; John Conyers Jr., D-Mich.; Sam Johnson, R-Texas; and Howard Coble, R-NC.)