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(CNN) -- North Korea has confirmed to Swedish diplomats that it is holding an American citizen, the U.S. State Department said Friday.The State Department has declined to confirm the identity of the citizen, citing privacy issues. But the family of 85-year-old Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, California, has said he has been detained in North Korea since October 26.
Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, and it has been working through Sweden -- the U.S. protecting power in North Korea -- to obtain information about the American.
"We are working in close coordination with representatives of the Embassy of Sweden to resolve this issue, and they also have requested on a daily basis consular access," State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told reporters.
Newman, a Korean War veteran and retired financial consultant, was last seen aboard a flight from Pyongyang to Beijing. Just minutes before the plane was to depart, he wasremoved from the flight by North Korean authorities, the family has said.
Read more @: State Department: North Korea confirms detention of American - CNN.com
C'mon DPRK. He is an 85 year old man who lives in a retirement community. Hopefully they mistook him for someone else, or hopefully they actually do plan on releasing him. I could also see them just taking him because he served in the Korean War. A rare occurrence in the DPRK and i wish his family the best of luck.