US says it takes seriously North Korean report of another American detained for illegal entry

US: Report of new detainee in N. Korea may be true

WASHINGTON — The State Department said Thursday it believes it is “entirely possible” that another American has been detained in North Korea for allegedly entering the country illegally from China.

Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said U.S. officials have been unable to confirm a report Wednesday by the North’s government-run Korean Central News Agency that the unidentified man was arrested Monday and is under investigation.

“We do not have specific confirmation, but we’re taking this seriously,” Crowley said. “Right now we’re operating on the assumption that it’s entirely possible that we have a second American citizen detained in North Korea, in addition to Robert Park.”

North Korea said in late December that it was holding a U.S. citizen for illegally entering through the North Korea-China border. It did not identify the man, but Crowley said the man is Robert Park, an American missionary. He said the U.S. has requested consular access to Park through the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang, which represents U.S. interests there; Washington has no diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.

If the report of a second American being detained is confirmed, the U.S. will seek similar access to him or her, Crowley said.

The Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang referred inquiries about the latest reported detention to the State Department.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry and Foreign Ministry said they had no information about the second detainee. The North Korean dispatch didn’t say exactly where the American entered the country, and police officials in the Chinese city of Dandong, at the border’s western end, said they had not heard of the case.

Separately, a Pentagon official said North Korea on Tuesday offered to consider allowing the U.S. back into the country to resume searching for remains of U.S. troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War. About 8,000 U.S. servicemen are listed as missing from the war.

Larry Greer, a spokesman for the POW-MIA office at the Pentagon, said the U.S. would weigh the offer. The U.S. in May 2005 unilaterally halted its remains recovery operations in North Korea, citing security concerns.

Asked about the North Korean offer, Crowley said the Obama administration was more interested in getting North Korea to agree to resume international negotiations over dismantling its nuclear arsenal. The North Koreans vowed earlier this year never to return to those negotiations, although it may have eased its stance recently.

“As we’ve made clear, our foremost interest right now is to get North Korea back into the six-party process, to address the obligations that they have previously committed to regarding denuclearization,” Crowley said.

“From our standpoint, we do have an interest in resolving outstanding MIA cases,” he said. “In the case of North Korea, it has expressed an interest in pursuing a peace agreement. All of these things are possible, but first and foremost, we need to see North Korea back in the six-party process. We think that’s the right framework for any number of issues to be addressed.”