Swedish diplomats visit US citizen detained in North Korea

Swedish diplomats in Pyongyang visited 85-year-old US Korean War veteran Merrill Newman in custody on Saturday, the State Department said, the first access to him by Western officials since his arrest in late October.

"The DPRK permitted the Embassy of Sweden, protecting power for issues involving US citizens in North Korea, consular access to US citizen Merrill Newman," a State Department official said in a statement. (Reuters)