U.S. State Department said Tuesday that an American being held in North Korea and called for the release of the person on humanitarian grounds.
Swedish officials, who represent the U.S. in the absence of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington have been able to visit "the detainee, the State Department spokesman told reporters Mark Toner. He declined to identify the detainee on the basis that the U.S. government has not obtained a waiver of privacy, whether the detainee or the family of the person.
"I have no details on what this person was doing in North Korea, but we believe that an appeal to the North Korean government to free this city for humanitarian reasons," said Toner.
"And we ask that the respect and treatment of this city in a manner consistent with international law of human rights," he added.
A State Department official told reporters on condition of anonymity that the person had "crossed the border," but gave no further details. Officials did not say when the American was arrested.