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(CNN) — The U.S. is urging Pyongyang to release an American held captive after reports that the man attempted suicide in a North Korean prison.

Swedish diplomats met with Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a U.S. State Department official confirmed Friday. He declined to release details about the 31-year-old’s condition, citing respect for the family’s privacy.

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SEOUL – South Korea accused North Korea Thursday of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship in March, killing 46 sailors in the country’s worst military disaster since the Korean War.

South Korea said it would take “firm” measures against its impoverished and reclusive neighbor, which furiously responded that it was ready for war if Seoul or its allies imposed sanctions.

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(CNN) — North Korea said Sunday it would no longer move forward with nuclear disarmament in response to a planned U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise.

The announcement was made by the official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA.

“The maneuvers clearly indicate once again that the U.S. and the South Korean authorities are the harassers of peace and warmongers keen to bring a war to this land,” the statement sa

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Washington (CNN) — The North Korean government informed the State Department on Friday that it is holding a second American citizen who the North Koreans say entered the country from China, a State Department spokesman said.

The American, who has not been identified, was detained Monday for trespassing on North Korea’s border with China, state-run Korea Central News Agency reported Thursday. The incident is under investigation, according to the agency’s report.

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SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Saturday, South Korea said, a violation of U.N. resolutions and an apparent message of defiance to the United States on its Independence Day.

The launches, which came two days after North Korea fired four short-range cruise missiles, will likely further escalate tensions in the region as the U.S. tries to muster support for tough enforcement of the U.N. resolution imposed on the communist regime for its May nuclear test.

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North Korea officials said they were enriching uranium and would weaponize all plutonium, according to KCNA, the state-run North Korean news agency.

When enriched to a high degree, uranium can be used for weapons-grade material. Plutonium can be used in atomic bombs.

These moves are in response to Friday’s U.N. resolution, according to the news agency, which referred to the resolution as a blockade.

“No mater how hard the U.S.-led hostile forces may try all sorts of isolation and blockade, the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), a proud nuclear power, will not flinch from them,” KCNA said.

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(CBS/AP) North Korea vowed Tuesday to bolster its nuclear deterrent and boycott six-party talks aimed at its denuclearization in protest of a U.N. Security Council statement condemning the country’s recent rocket launch.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “resolutely condemns” the action by the United Nations, which it said “rampantly” infringes upon the country’s sovereignty and “severely debases” the people’s dignity.