North Korea announced on Friday it has arrested a student from the U.S. who allegedly committed "hostile acts" against the state. The student was identified as Otto Frederick Warmbier, who is enrolled at the University of Virginia, state news agency KCNA said, according to the BBC News.
The state agency reported that the student entered the country as a tourist. The student, who has links to the U.S. government, allegedly plotted to undermine unity among North Koreans, according to the New York Daily News.
Gareth Johnson of China-based Young Pioneer Tours confirmed that Warmbier was on one of his North Korea tours and was detained on Jan. 2.
"We are in touch with Otto's family, the U.S. State Department and the Embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang and doing all we can to secure his release," Johnson said, according to The Huffington Post. U.S. interests in North Korea are being represented by the Swedish Embassy.
The announcement from North Korea comes after facing a diplomatic push by Washington, Seoul and other cities to give them hard-hitting injunctions for its latest nuclear tests.
North Korea has been known to announce arrests for foreign detainees during times of tension with other countries in an attempt to seize compromises, according to the Associated Press.
