N. Korea detains American man, 85

Associated Press

seoul, south korea

North Korean officials detained an 85-year-old U.S. veteran of the Korean War last month as he sat in a plane set to leave the country, the man’s son said.

A uniformed North Korean officer boarded the plane Oct. 26 and asked Merrill Newman, a tourist, for his passport before telling a stewardess that Newman had to leave the plane, the son, Jeffrey Newman, said Wednesday.

It wasn’t clear what led to the detention. The son said he was speaking regularly with the U.S. State Department about his father, but U.S. officials wouldn’t confirm the detention to reporters, citing privacy issues.