US official: American on plane from North Korea

A U.S. official says an American citizen detained last month by North Korea has been deported and is on a flight back to the United States.

The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. He declined to provide any additional details.

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency has named the American citizen as Bruce Byron Lowrance. KCNA said Friday that the man was detained on Oct. 16 for illegally entering the country from China and that he would be deported.

In the past, North Korea has held arrested American citizens for an extended period before high-profile U.S. figures travelled to Pyongyang to secure their freedom.

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