Tour group confirms American held in N. Korea

North Korea has detained a USA university student, the third western citizen known to be held in the isolated state, for committing a “hostile act” and wanting to “destroy the country’s unity”, it said on Friday.

Warmbier Otto Frederick, a Cincinnati, Ohio native and University of Virginia undergrad, was arrested on January 2 at the Pyonyang airport minutes before he was set to board a flight out of North Korea following a five-day excursion to the secluded nation.

The reports say Warmbier entered the North as a tourist, and allegedly plotted to undermine the North’s system.

In a statement Friday, the U.S. State Department said without naming Warmbier that it was “aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea”.

Warmbier was a top student at his high school and was described as a skilled soccer player.

When the North fires a missile, the South is better positioned to detect the launch site, while Japan can more accurately determine the target, according to a South Korean defense official. It said a man identified as Kim Dong Chul was being held by the North and said authorities had accused him of engaging in spying and stealing state secrets. It said the student has links to the US government.

“Sweden is the protecting power for the U.S. in North Korea”.

Pyongyang has a history of using foreign detainees as bargaining chips to extract concessions and high-profile visits to secure their release. But U.S. and South Korean officials responded coolly to the overture, saying they first wanted to see North Korea taking some concrete actions and showing how serious it is about disarmament before the talks can resume. “We do everything to ensure his release”, said a spokesman.

Even so, Park reiterated a consistent message out of South Korea regarding the role of Beijing, a key North Korean partner.

“I’m asking the USA or South Korean government to rescue me”, Mr Kim told a CNN correspondent through an interpreter at a hotel in Pyongyang.