North Korea has accused a U.S. citizen it has detained since April of trying to “overturn” its government.
“[Kim Sang Dok committed] criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn [North Korea],” the country’s state-controlled news agency said Wednesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) noted Kim’s “interception” took place April 22 at Pyongyang’s international airport.
{mosads}KCNA added that his criminal activities “are not only in the past but also during his last stay before interception.”
The Journal said Kim is also known by his English name, Tony, and taught at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.
The school, founded by a Korean-American businessman, said in April that Kim had been detained for “matters that are not connected in any way” with its work.
A person familiar with Kim told the Journal his wife was with him in Pyongyang and has since returned to the U.S.
South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported in April that Kim is in his late 50s and was involved in aid work in North Korea.
Kim is the third known U.S. citizen detained by North Korean authorities in recent months.
Pyongyang in 2016 sentenced Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia undergraduate, to 15 years hard labor. Warmbier was arrested for allegedly trying to steal a political poster from a hotel.
Kim Dong-chul, a Korean-American businessman, was also sentenced to 10 years hard labor by Pyongyang in 2016.
North Korea has emerged as major foreign policy concern for President Trump due to its repeated ballistic and nuclear missile tests violating global arms pacts.