Detention of fourth U.S. citizen by N. Korea 'concerning': White House

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The detention of a fourth U.S. citizen by North Korea over the weekend has drawn concern from the United States.

Assuring an action, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer, during a press briefing on Monday, said they will work through the Swedish embassy to seek release of the detainees, Sputnik International reports.

"Obviously, this is concerning, we're well aware of it and we're going to work through the embassy of Sweden, that has an embassy in North Korea, through our State Department to seek release of the individuals there," Spicer stated.

It was reported that a fourth U.S. citizen was detained a day earlier by Pyongyang on suspicion of hostile acts.

The detainee was identified as Kim Hak-song, who was a U.S. professor working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology. Hak-song is the second U.S. professor at the university to have been detained.

Former U.S.-Korean professor Kim Sang-duk was arrested by at the Pyongyang International Airport on April 21 following a month in North Korea working on humanitarian activities.