The State Department said Americans in that country are at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under its system of law enforcement.
"This system imposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States and threatens US citizen detainees with being treated in accordance with wartime law of the DPRK," it said.
The US man, Kim Hak-Song, was detained for "hostile acts," the official KCNA news agency said, adding he had worked for the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST).
North Korean authorities have detained those who travelled independently and those who were part of organised tours, the State Department said.
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