DPRK confirms detention of US veteran

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Saturday that it had arrested a U.S. Korean War veteran for committing hostile acts against the country under the guise of a tourist. Pyongyang accused Merrill Edward Newman of being "a criminal" who was involved in the killing of civilians during the 1950-53 Korean War. After entering the DPRK as a member of a tourist group in October, he "perpetrated acts of infringing upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK and slandering its socialist system, quite contrary to the purpose of tour," the official KCNA news agency reported. "He admitted all his crimes and made an apology for them," said the news agency. Newman, 85, was taken off a plane on Oct. 26 by DPRK authorities while preparing to leave the country after a 10-day tour.