BREAKING: North Korea Detains American College Student

North Korea said Friday that it had arrested a University of Virginia student for allegedly committing "anti-state" acts orchestrated by the U.S. government.In language that mirrors past North Korean claims of outside conspiracies, state media claimed Otto Frederick Warmbier entered the North as a tourist with a plot to undermine unity among the North Koreans with "the tacit connivance of the U.S. government and under its manipulation."The report from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Warmbier was "arrested while perpetrating a hostile act," but didn't say when he was detained or explain the nature of the act.The University of Virginia's website listed Warmbier as an undergraduate commerce student. A LinkedIn page under Warmbier's name indicated that he was originally from Ohio and a third-year student at the university.

He has also visited Cuba, Ireland and Israel, according to his Facebook page, Reuters reports.An official at the U.S. embassy in the South Korean capital Seoul told Reuters it was aware of the reported arrest, but had no further comment.A spokesman for China-based Young Pioneer Tours, which specializes in travel to North Korea, told Reuters that Warmbier had been detained on Jan. 2, while on one of the company's tours."We are in touch with Otto's family, the U.S. State Department and the Embassy of Sweden in Pyongyang and doing all we can to secure his release," Gareth Johnson said. Sweden handles U.S. consular issues in North Korea because Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations.The announcement came as Washington, Seoul and others are pushing hard to slap North Korea with tougher sanctions for its recent nuclear test. In the past, North Korea often announced the arrests of foreign detainees in times of tension with the outside world in an apparent attempt to wrest concessions or diplomatic maneuvering room.Read the full story from FOX News[mwi-cat-listing cat="94" ppp="4" cols="4" desc="false" type="view" btn_color="black" ]