One of three Americans held in North Korea on charges of crimes against the state said he was anxiously awaiting his trial and appealed for U.S. government help to secure their freedom, a news report said on Thursday.
North Korea has told Japan it would not pass on findings from an investigation into the fate of Japanese people abducted by North Koran agents and proposed that Japan sends representatives for talks, Japan's prime minister said on Tuesday.
Japanese and North Korean officials will meet next week for an update on the North's probe into the fate of Japanese citizens it kidnapped decades ago, Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday.
Matthew Miller, the American held in North Korea since April for "hostile acts", began a six-year hard labor sentence on Thursday that he said involved farm work and isolation, media reports said.
