Kim Young-jin
Staff Reporter

North Korea has granted Swedish diplomats consular access to an American citizen who has been detained since January for allegedly illegally entering the country, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

"We can confirm that on March 14, the DPRK granted the Swedish Embassy, our protecting power, consular access to a detained U.S. citizen," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is North Korea's official name.

Crowley declined to give any additional information about the detainee. The government of Sweden, through its embassy in Pyongyang, represents U.S. interests in North Korea as the United States does not maintain a diplomatic presence there.

The North said in late January the American was being held for ``trespassing'' into the country via its border with China and is being questioned.

In early February, the North released another American, missionary Robert Park, who was detained after crossing into its territory in an effort to draw international attention to its human rights abuses. The 28-year-old has yet to issue a public statement since his release.

In a separate case, two American journalists were released by the North in August after being held for entering the country while reporting for an independent U.S. cable television network.

They were freed soon after former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

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