White House spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday that Washington is aware of a situation involving an American student held in North Korea.
He added that the safety of Americans abroad is a top priority for the administration, Reuters reported. The comments came after North Korean media on Sunday reported that a U.S. student held in the country since early January was detained for trying to steal an item bearing a propaganda slogan from his Pyongyang hotel and had confessed to "severe crimes".