North Korea confirms arrest of U.S. citizen

PYONGYANG, North Korea -- North Korea said Friday that an American citizen has been detained after confessing to unspecified crimes, confirming news reports about his arrest at a time when Pyongyang is facing criticism from Washington for launching a long-range rocket last week.

The American was identified as Pae Jun Ho in a brief dispatch issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang. News reports in the United States and South Korea said Pae is known in his home state of Washington as Kenneth Bae, 44, a tour operator of Korean descent.

An expert said he is likely to become a bargaining chip for the North, an attempt to draw Washington into talks. Five other Americans known to have been detained in North Korea since 2009 were all eventually released.

North Korean state media said Pae arrived in the far northeastern city of Rajin on Nov. 3 as part of a tour. Rajin is part of a special economic zone not far from Yanji, China, that has sought to draw foreign investors and tourists.

Yanji, home to many ethnic Korean Chinese, also serves as a base for Christian groups that shelter North Korean defectors.

"In the process of investigation, evidence proving that he committed a crime against . . . [North Korea] was revealed. He admitted his crime," the central news agency dispatch said.

The agency said consular officials from the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang visited Pae Friday. Sweden represents the United States in diplomatic affairs in North Korea since Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations.

Sweden's ambassador to North Korea referred the matter to the U.S. State Department, which said officials were aware of the detention.