U.S. confirms citizen held by DPRK

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 -- The United States confirmed that one of its citizens had been detained by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a spokesman for the State Department said Friday.

Due to privacy concern, spokesperson Jen Psaki did not reveal the identity of the detainee at a daily press briefing of State Department. "We are working in close coordination with representatives of the Embassy of Sweden to resolve this issue," she said.

The Swedish Embassy represented U.S. interests in the DPRK as Washington and Pyongyang had no diplomatic relations. The embassy had requested on a daily basis consular access to the detainee, but had not been granted access by far, according to Psaki.

The family of 85-year-old Merrill Newman from Palo Alto, California, said they have lost contact with the elderly man, who was on a 10-day tour in the DPRK, since last month, according to U. S. media reports.

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