American detained in N. Korea

Authorities block Tony Kim, who taught at Pyongyang University of Science, from leaving country.

BEIJING — North Korea has detained a U.S. citizen, raising the number of Americans known detained there to three and potentially deepening animosity between Washington and Pyongyang.

Tony Kim, who also goes by his Korean name Kim Sang-duk, was detained on Saturday, said Park Chanmo, chancellor of the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Park said Kim, 58, taught accounting at the university for about a month.

North Korean authorities detained him at Pyongyang International Airport on his way out of the country Saturday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing unidentified sources. The reason for his detention was unknown.

Kim is a former professor at the Yanbian University of Science and Technology, a research university in China’s Jilin province, which borders North Korea. He was in the country for about a month “to discuss relief activities,” Yonhap reported.

The agency said South Korea’s national intelligence agency was unaware of the detention.

Martina Aberg, deputy head of mission for the Swedish Embassy in North Korea, confirmed the detention to CNN Sunday.

“He was prevented from getting on the flight out of Pyongyang,” Aberg said.

In the absence of a U.S. Embassy in North Korea, Sweden handles consular matters involving U.S. citizens there.

The State Department said Sunday that it was “aware of reports that a U.S. citizen was detained in North Korea” and that it was working with the Swedish Embassy. The department said in a statement that it would not comment further because of “privacy considerations.”

North Korea is working to develop nuclear-tipped missiles that could reach the U.S., and analysts say it could soon conduct its sixth nuclear test. The U.S. says it sent the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson toward the Korean Peninsula. It is expected to arrive this week.

More than 10 U.S. citizens have been detained in North Korea since 2009, according to Yonhap. Two remain in the country; others have been released after visits to Pyongyang by prominent Americans.

In March, 2016, North Korea sentenced Otto Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, to 15 years of labor for attempting to steal a propaganda poster from his hotel. He had been in North Korea as a tourist, on a five-day visit.

North Korean state media accused him of entering the country with the intent of “bringing down the foundation of its singleminded unity.”

The next month, North Korea sentenced Kim Dong Chul, a South Korean-born naturalized American citizen, to 10 years’ hard labor for espionage.

A Canadian pastor, Hyeon Soo Lim, has also been held in the country since early 2015.

APTN 2014 Detained U.S. citizen Tony Kim taught accounting at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, above, for about a month, the school’s chancellor says.