North Korea sentenced U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years hard labor for committing "hostile acts" as a tourist to the isolated country, a statement carried by state media said on Sunday.
"He committed acts hostile to the DPRK while entering the territory of the DPRK under the guise of a tourist last April," the short statement said, without elaborating.
Miller, from Bakersfield, California and in his mid-20s, entered North Korea in April this year whereupon he tore up his tourist visa and demanded Pyongyang grant him asylum, according to a release from state media at the time.
Photos of the trial released by state media showed some of Miller's personal possessions, including his passport and North Korean visa - which was ripped. Miller was also shown sitting in a witness box, flanked by North Korean soldiers.
North Korea has yet to announce a trial date for fellow U.S. citizen Jeffrey Fowle, 56, from Miamisburg, Ohio, who was arrested in May this year for leaving a bible under the toilet of a sailor's club in the eastern port city of Chongjin.
U.S. missionary Kenneth Bae has been held by the isolated country since December 2012 and is serving a sentence of 15 years hard labor for crimes North Korea said amounted to a plot to overthrow the state.
