North Korea investigates American student

The United States is aware of reports that a U.S. citizen has been detained in North Korea, the State Department said Friday, after Pyongyang declared it had arrested an American student for an unspecified “hostile act”.

The student has been named by North Korea’s state-run news agency, KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) as Otto Frederick Warmbier.

North Korea on Friday announced the arrest of a university student from OH for what it called a “hostile act” orchestrated by the American government to undermine the authoritarian nation.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that North Korea had detained another USA citizen on suspicion of spying.

North Korea has sometimes listed English-language surnames first, in the Korean style.

News of this detention came against a backdrop of ongoing diplomatic discussions in the worldwide community about how to deal with North Korea following its fourth nuclear test, which occurred January 6. “You have to be careful what you say”. A spokesman for the University of Virginia said representatives had been in touch with Warmbier’s family and had no additional comment.

“Sweden is the protecting power for the United States in North Korea”.

The Tribune said the latest arrest happens while U.S seeks rigid sanctions over North Korea’s latest nuclear test.

The Cavalier Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Virginia, reported that Warmbier is a third-year commerce student there and is enrolled in the Echols scholars program.

North Korea would likely respond angrily to any such meeting, and it is unlikely China, the North’s last major ally and biggest aid provider, and Russian Federation, also a traditional ally, would quickly embrace Park’s proposal.

North Korea, which is trying to promote tourism partly as a way to earn foreign currency, dramatically eased restrictions on American tourists in 2008, allowing for more Americans to visit at more times of the year.

North Korea is now thought to be holding two western citizens.

However, in December it reportedly sentenced a South Korea-born Canadian pastor to hard labor for life for subversion. 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.