American detained in North Korea

North Korea said it detained an American man for illegally entering the country from China, the second arrest of a US citizen it reported in the past few weeks.

The man was detained on Monday and is under investigation, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said in a brief dispatch. It did not identify him by name or provide other details.

In Washington, US State Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The US embassies in Beijing and Seoul said they had no comment.

North Korea said late last month that it was holding another US citizen for illegally entering through the North Korea-China border.

It did not identify the man, but he is widely believed to be Robert Park, an American missionary who South Korean activists said crossed over a frozen river into North Korea several days earlier to raise the issue of human rights.

US officials are still seeking consular access to that citizen, US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters.