North Korea says detained U.S. student confesses to crimes against state | Daily Mail Online

06-08

North Korea says detained U.S. student confesses to crimes against state

ByReuters

Published: 03:11 GMT, 29 February 2016 | Updated: 03:11 GMT, 29 February 2016

SEOUL, Feb 29 (Reuters) - An American student held in NorthKorea since early January has confessed to "severe crimes"against the state, North Korean state media said on Monday.

Otto Warmbier, 21, a student at the University of Virginia,was detained before boarding his flight to China over anunspecified incident at his hotel, his tour agency told Reutersin January.

"I committed the crime of taking out a political slogan fromthe staff-only area of the Yanggakdo International Hotel," statemedia quoted Warmbier as telling foreign and domestic media inPyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Monday.

North Korea has a long history of detaining foreigners, andthe U.S. and Canadian governments advise against travel there.

Pyongyang has in the past used detained U.S. citizens toextract high-profile visits from the United States, with whichit has no formal diplomatic relations. (Reporting by James Pearson and Jack Kim; Editing by ClarenceFernandez)