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North Korea says it has arrested U.S. student: What we know now

PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - JANUARY 08: A sunrise is seen through a barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea on January 8, 2016 in Paju, South Korea. South Korea announced on January 7th that it would resume the broadcasts from loudspeakers placed along the border, criticizing the North in response to its nuclear test. In August, 2015, when South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines in the DMZ, South Korea started the loudspeaker broadcasts and the North threatened to attack the speakers. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
PAJU, SOUTH KOREA - JANUARY 08: A sunrise is seen through a barbed-wire fence at the Imjingak, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating South and North Korea on January 8, 2016 in Paju, South Korea. South Korea announced on January 7th that it would resume the broadcasts from loudspeakers placed along the border, criticizing the North in response to its nuclear test. In August, 2015, when South Korean soldiers were maimed by land mines in the DMZ, South Korea started the loudspeaker broadcasts and the North threatened to attack the speakers. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Jan 22, 2016

Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1:57 p.m. ET to correct the student's name and the name of the University of Virginia.


An American college student from Cincinnati has been detained in North Korea for "anti-state acts."

Otto Frederick Warmbier, a University of Virginia student, entered the country on a tourist visa, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency.

The agency said his plan was to undermine the North's system (government) with the assistance of the U.S. government.

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Warmbier graduated in 2013 from Wyoming High School in Cincinnati. U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, whose district includes the area where Warmbier attended high school, tweeted Friday his office was offering assistance in the investigation, CNN reported.

The arrest was announced early Friday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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