The State Department said Monday it was in the process of investigating a report that North Korea is holding an American citizen prisoner, but declined to offer specifics about how it was getting information from the rogue state, or what it might do if the report is accurate.
CNN reported Monday that Pyongyang claimed to the network that it is holding an American citizen who used to live in Fairfax, Va.
When asked Monday about that report, State Department spokesman John Kirby initially declined to answer.
“I have nothing to confirm those reports,” he said. “I’m just not in a position to do so right now.”
When pressed on whether U.S. is talking with Sweden about it, since the U.S. has no official diplomatic means of asking North Korea, Kirby seemed to confirm that an effort was being made to verify the report.
“I can tell you that we are looking into the matter, and when we have more that we can say, if we have more that we can say, we will,” he said.
The House on Monday was expected to easily pass legislation that would impose new sanctions against North Korea in light of that country’s recent claim that it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb.
