U.S. envoy still hopeful for missionary's release from North Korea

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. REUTERS/KCNA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is still hopeful of securing the release of an American missionary being held in North Korea, the U.S. human rights envoy for the country said on Thursday, even though two trips he has had scheduled for the purpose have been cancelled.

Ambassador Robert King said there had been no progress on the Kenneth Bae case since his last trip was called off in February.