The U.S. State Department said Monday it's looking into reports that an American citizen has been arrested in North Korea on espionage charges.

CNN has reported from Pyongyang that a purported Korean-American man, identified as Kim Dong-chul, has been detained in the North since October and is asking the U.S. or South Korea to help win his release.

"I have nothing to confirm those reports. I'm just not in a position to do so right now," State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a regular briefing. "We are looking into the matter and when we have more that we can say, if we have more that we can say, we will."

CNN also quoted Kim as saying in an interview that he moved to the Chinese city of Yanji bordering North Korea in 2001 and commuted daily to the North Korean city of Rason, where he served as head of a company involved in international trade and hotel services.

Kim was also quoted as telling CNN that he spied on behalf of "South Korean conservative elements" and "was tasked with taking photos of military secrets and 'scandalous' scenes," and "help destroy the (North Korean) system and spread propaganda against the government." (Yonhap)