A British reporter was ordered to leave North Korea by state authorities Monday after he was recently detained for allegedly “insulting the dignity” of the country in the run-up to its ruling party congress, the BBC said Monday.

The reporter, Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, along with his producer and cameraman were detained Friday at the Pyongyang airport as they were scheduled to leave the country. Wingfield-Hayes was stopped before boarding his plane and subjected to eight hours of questioning alone at the airport.

O Ryong Il, a spokesman for North Korea’s National Peace Committee, said Wingfield-Hayes was detained because his writing distorted facts and “spoke ill” of the country’s leadership. He said the journalist wrote an apology letter before being expelled Monday, and that Wingfield-Hayes would never be allowed back in the country.

The British journalist and his team were in North Korea along with some Nobel prize laureates ahead of the Workers Party Congress. 

More than 100 foreign journalists have been in Pyongyang over the past several days to cover the congress – the first such gathering in 36 years. During the congress, leader Kim Jong Un has spoken about a wide array of topics. He pledged not to use nuclear weapons unless threatened by other nuclear powers and called for more talks with South Korea.  Kim was also bestowed a new, more prestigious title.

The foreign journalists have not been allowed to attend the congress, instead filing reports some distance outside the building, and being escorted to various locations favored by the government in Pyongyang.
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