North Korea detains another US citizen: official news agency

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May 7, 2017 3:35 PM

North Korea has arrested and jailed several US citizens in the past decade, often releasing them only after high-profile visits by current or former US officials or former US presidents

North Korea announced Sunday it had detained a US citizen for "hostile acts" -- its second arrest in a fortnight of an American as tensions rise between Pyongyang and Washington.

Kim Hak Song was detained on Saturday, the state news agency KCNA reported. "A relevant institution is now conducting detailed investigation into his crimes," it added.

It said Kim had worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST), as had the US citizen detained last month.

The two-paragraph report gave no further details of the arrest of Kim Hak Song.

Last Wednesday the North confirmed the arrest on April 22 of Kim Sang-Duk, or Tony Kim, for trying to "overturn" the regime.

The arrest of Kim Hak Song means four US citizens are currently being held in the North.

Pyongyang is engaged in a tense standoff with the administration of new US President Donald Trump over its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

The Pyongyang University of Science and Technology -- founded by evangelical Christians from overseas and opened in 2010 -- is known to have a number of American faculty members. Pupils are generally children from the North's elite.

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