North Korea Arrests Us Student For ‘Hostile Activities’

North Korea said Friday it had arrested a US student who, under orders from Washington, had engaged in unspecified “hostile activities” after entering the country on a tourist visa.

The detention comes at a sensitive time, with the United States taking a leading role in international efforts to secure tough sanctions on North Korea over its latest nuclear test.

The student, identified as Frederick Otto Warmbier from the University of Virginia, had entered North Korea as a tourist “in order to shake the foundation of the DPRK’s unity under the direction of the US government”, the North’s official KCNA news agency said, using the official acronym for North Korea.

“He was arrested while carrying out anti-DPRK hostile activities and is now under investigation,” it added.

The term “hostile activities” is a catch-all accusation that has been levelled at numerous detained foreigners in the past — covering a range of possible charges from spying to illicit missionary work.

The latest arrest comes months after the North released a South Korean man studying at New York University.

Several Americans have been held in North Korea in recent years, including the South Korean-born missionary Kenneth Bae, who was similarly charged with hostile activities and sentenced in 2013 to 15 years in prison.

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