Trump to personally ask Xi to free US expert who tracks North Korea’s nuclear tests: report

The White House has assured the wife of an American expert on North Korean nuclear tests that President Donald Trump will personally request his freedom from Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their summit this week.

Yufang Rong expressed grave concerns that authorities in Beijing intend to put her husband, Youlin Chen, on trial under fabricated espionage allegations. She emphasized that his US-funded research relied entirely on publicly available data, was openly published, and involved direct collaboration with Chinese scientists.

Trump is set to host Xi on Wednesday for their second bilateral meeting since May, as leaders of the two global powers seek to stabilize relations amid ongoing frictions involving trade, Iran, and Taiwan.

Rong noted that during a Tuesday meeting at the White House with officials from the State Department and the National Security Council, she received firm assurances that Trump would press Xi for her husband’s release.

The 54-year-old seismologist is one of two US citizens held by Beijing whom Washington has officially designated as “wrongfully detained,” elevating their freedom to a diplomatic priority. The other individual is Min Zin, an American scholar arrested in June. Rong said she was told Trump would also advocate for Min Zin’s release.

Although Trump previously raised Chen’s detention with Xi during a visit to Beijing in May, those discussions yielded no tangible results, according to Rong. A senior US official, speaking anonymously regarding sensitive diplomatic efforts, stated that “Resolving the wrongful detentions of US citizens is always a top priority for the president”.

Beijing has firmly rejected the characterization of the arrest. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said the individual is suspected of activities that breach domestic laws and endanger national security.

Addressing reporters in Beijing, spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated without further detail that “China is a country with rule of law, and there is no such thing as wrongful detention”.

Chen, a naturalized US citizen since 2011 who resided in the Boston area, works as a seismologist for a US government contractor.

His specialized research detecting seismic shockwaves from North Korean underground nuclear detonations has received transparent funding from both the State Department and the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

Chinese state security officers apprehended him on November 5, 2024, at Beijing International Airport as he prepared to board a flight home following family visits and academic lectures at two universities.

Rong revealed that her husband has undergone more than 100 interrogation sessions since being taken into custody. “I can’t imagine how hard his life is there every day,” she said.

She believes Chinese authorities hope to exploit his technical expertise to enhance their own ability to conceal nuclear tests through “decoupling”—a specialized technique where an explosive device is detonated inside a massive underground chamber to cushion the resulting shockwaves.

Washington has previously accused China of using decoupling techniques to mask a low-yield nuclear blast on June 22, 2020. China, which signed the 1996 international nuclear test ban alongside the US but has not ratified it, denies conducting any such test.

Consular access has been limited to monthly 30-minute visits by US embassy officials, conducted strictly in the presence of Chinese authorities, Rong said. During these meetings, officials read letters written by Rong and record his dictated responses, along with observations of his appearance and mental state. Meanwhile, Chen’s Chinese attorney is prohibited from discussing his visits with her.

Rong expressed growing alarm over the conditions of his imprisonment, pointing to substandard food and inadequate medical care for his existing health conditions, including diabetes and high blood pressure.

When asked what message she would send to her husband, Rong said she would tell him: “‘Be strong. Be optimistic. There are a lot of people helping you. You will come back for sure.'”