Tour group confirms American held in North Korea

A China-based tour company has confirmed that one if its clients has been detained in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

Young Pioneer Tours, which includes foreigners living in China who travel to North Korea, says the family of the American has been informed and the group has been touch with the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which handles US interests in the country.

The group says they are assisting the US State Department closely in this situation. They identified the man by his first name Otto, saying, "We would appreciate Otto's and his family's privacy being respected and we hope his release can be secured as soon as possible".

Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported that authorities are investigating the student who it says entered the North as a tourist with a plot to undermine a unity among the North Koreans. It said the student has links to the US government.

KCNA identified the person as Warmbier Otto Frederick, a student at Virginia University. North Korea has sometimes listed English-language surnames first.