Family: US man detained in N. Korea hospitalized

An American man detained in North Korea for the past nine months has been hospitalized after losing more than 50 pounds (22 kilograms), and the need to bring him home is becoming more urgent, his sister said Sunday.

Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator and Christian missionary, was arrested in November and accused of subversive activities against the authoritarian government. He was sentenced in May to 15 years hard labor, and in letters to his family in the Seattle area he described working in the fields weeding and planting beans and potatoes. (AP)