North Korea reportedly holding US citizen prisoner

North Korea claimed on Monday that it has arrested an American citizen on espionage charges, according to CNN.

Officials in Pyongyang identified the prisoner as former Fairfax, Va. resident Kim Dong Chul, 62, the network added.

{mosads}“I’m asking the U.S. or South Korean government to come rescue me,” Kim said during an interview at a hotel in the North Korean capital city.

Kim told the news outlet that he was arrested last October after spying on the reclusive kingdom for “South Korean conservative elements.”

“I was tasked with taking photos of military secrets and ‘scandalous’ scenes,” he said. “They asked me to help destroy the [North Korean] system and spread propaganda against the government.

“[They] injected me with a hatred towards North Korea,” Kim added.

Kim told CNN that he initially relocated to Yanji, China in 2001. The Chinese-North Korean border city serves as a trade hub between the communist allies.

He then began commuting daily into Rason, North Korea starting in 2007, he added, serving as president of a company working in the international trade and hotel services industries.

North Korean officials began monitoring Kim’s activities in 2009, CNN reported. He told the news channel Monday that he formally began spying in April 2013.

“[I would] gather important materials,” Kim said, adding that he would then smuggle intelligence into China or South Korea.

CNN reported that Kim was apprehended in October 2015 with a USB stick and camera he used for documenting military secrets.

A 35-year-old former North Korean solider who reportedly shared secrets with Kim was also arrested. CNN said that the man’s fate is unknown.

CNN added Monday that it could not verify whether Kim’s claims are true, reporting that his interview occurred under the watch of North Korean military personnel. The interview follows North Korea’s disputed announcement last week that it had successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb. 

The State Department announced Monday that it could also not confirm whether Kim is actually a U.S. citizen.

“Speaking publicly about specific purported cases of detained Americans can complicate our tireless efforts to secure their freedom,” a spokesperson said.