Who is the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, what has he reported on North Korea, and why is he being expelled?
BBC journalist Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (C) is surrounded by reporters upon his arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport after being expelled from North Korea CREDIT:REUTERS--Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reporting in North Korea CREDIT: BBC
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reporting in North Korea CREDIT: BBC
BBC journalist, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, has been expelled from North Korea, three days after he was detained in the capital Pyongyang over reports that the authorities said were “disrespectful” towards the country’s leader, Kim Jong-Un.
Who is Rupert Wingfield-Hayes?
He is the BBC’s Tokyo correspondent and has worked for the organisation since 1999.
He has also covered Beijing, Moscow and the Middle East for the BBC.
During the Tahrir Square protests in 2011, he was detained in Cairo by the secret police and he was also the first BBC correspondent to enter Tripoli after the fall of Gaddafi.
He was joined by producer Maria Byrne and cameraman Matthew Goddard.
What was he doing in North Korea?
Wingfield-Hayes was among dozens of foreign journalists who had been invited to North Korea to report on the ruling Workers’ party’s first congress for 36 years.He was joined by producer Maria Byrne and cameraman Matthew Goddard.
Why has he been expelled?
North Korea says is it removing Wingfield-Hayes for allegedly "insulting the dignity" of the authoritarian country.Reports said that North Korean officials were unhappy about Wingfield-Hayes’ coverage of a visit to a children’s hospital in Pyongyang, along with Nobel prize laureates.
In the report, which aired last week, Wingfield-Hayes said the patients at the hospital looked “remarkably well, and there isn’t a real doctor in sight”.
Why has he been expelled?
North Korea says is it removing Wingfield-Hayes for allegedly "insulting the dignity" of the authoritarian country.Reports said that North Korean officials were unhappy about Wingfield-Hayes’ coverage of a visit to a children’s hospital in Pyongyang, along with Nobel prize laureates.
In the report, which aired last week, Wingfield-Hayes said the patients at the hospital looked “remarkably well, and there isn’t a real doctor in sight”.
He added: “Everything we see looks like a set-up.
"This country appears obsessed with portraying an image of strength and perfection.
"The level of control and nervousness we have experienced betrays the weakness and insecurity that lies beneath," he concluded.
What does North Korea say?
O Ryong-il, secretary-general of the North's National Peace Committee, said today that Wingfield-Hayes' news coverage distorted facts and "spoke ill of the system and the leadership of the country."He said Wingfield-Hayes wrote an apology, was being expelled and would never be admitted into the country again.
What does the BBC say?
BBC reports said Wingfield-Hayes was questioned for eight hours by North Korean officials and made to sign a statement.The BBC’s Stephen Evans, who is still in Pyongyang, said the North Korean leadership was displeased with the broadcaster’s depictions of life in the country’s capital.
