朝鲜官方“朝中社”星期四说， 韩裔美国人裴埈皓(英文名：肯尼斯.裴)星期二被朝鲜最高法院裁定有罪。

此前朝鲜表示，裴埈皓承认犯下了目的要推翻朝鲜政府的罪行，但是却没有详细说明那些所谓罪名的确切性质。

44岁的裴埈皓去年11月在朝鲜东北部的港口城市罗先被捕。罗先是位于中俄边境附近的一个特别经济区。

美国之音获悉，韩裔美国人裴埈皓是一家旅行社的代表，他可能因为携带的电脑里有敏感或引起争议的信息被捕。

本星期早些时候，美国国务院呼吁朝鲜出于人道主义释放裴埈皓。国务院说，美国公民的福祉是“关键的和当务之急的”。

North Korea says it has sentenced an American citizen to 15 years of hard labor after finding him guilty of committing what it says are "hostile acts" against the state.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that Pae Jun-ho, known as Kenneth Bae in the United States, was convicted by the country's supreme court Tuesday.

North Korea previously said he confessed to committing crimes aimed at overthrowing the government. But it has not specified the exact nature of those alleged crimes.

The 44-year-old was arrested in November in the northeastern port city of Rason, which lies in a special economic zone near the border with Russia and China.

VOA has learned that Bae was a Korean-American tour operator who may have been arrested after being found with a computer that carried sensitive or controversial information.

Earlier this week, the U.S. State Department called for North Korea to release Bae on humanitarian grounds, saying the welfare of American citizens is a "critical and top priority."