CNN: Naturalized American Detained in N. Korea for Spying

A man who said he was a naturalized American citizen said he was being detained in North Korea for spying and asked the South Korean or U.S. government to rescue him, CNN reported on Monday.

Kim Dong Chul, who CNN said was 60, said he spied on behalf of “South Korean conservative elements,” and was arrested in October.

“I was tasked with taking photos of military secrets and scandalous scenes,” Kim told CNN in the interview.

CNN said officials in North Korea had said Kim was a U.S. citizen arrested on espionage charges.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces in South Korea were put on their highest level of alert on Monday in case of any provocation from North Korea, following North Korea’s nuclear test last week.

Curtis Scaparrotti, Commander, U.N. Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea (USFK), gave the order during a visit to the Osan Air Base, operated jointly by the United States and South Korea, a USFK official said.