PYONGYANG, North Korea, April 25 (UPI) -- North Korea has detained a U.S. tourist for alleged “rash behavior” at the immigration point where he entered the country, the state news agency reported.
KCNA, the news agency, named “Miller Matthew Todd,” 24, as the American denied entry on Apr. 10 for “his rash behavior in the course of going through formalities for entry.” The announcement was made Friday, and coincided with President Barack Obama’s visit to South Korea. No reason was given for the two-week delay in the announcement of his detention.
KCNA said Todd ripped up his tourist visa at the unidentified immigration point and shouted he had arrived in North Korea “after choosing it as a shelter.”
North Korea has held Kenneth Bae, a U.S.-Korean missionary, since 2012. He is serving a 15-year imprisonment at hard labor after a conviction for attempting to overthrow the government. U.S. efforts to arrange Bae’s release have been unsuccessful.