( CNN ) -- An 85-year-old American man detained in North Korea has apologized for his actions , including for killing troops and civilians during the Korean War , North Korea 's state-run news agency reported Saturday . KCNA released a statement it claimed was from Merrill Newman -- a Palo Alto , California man who , his family says , has been held in North Korea for more than 30 days . `` After I killed so many civilians and ( North Korean ) soldiers and destroyed strategic objects in the DPRK during the Korean War , I committed indelible offensive acts against the DPRK government and Korean people , '' Newman said , according to the `` apology '' reported by KCNA . Is U.S. man detained in North Korea a bargaining chip ? His statement ends : `` If I go back to ( the ) USA , I will tell the true features of the DPRK and the life the Korean people are leading . '' In addition to this statement , KCNA ran a story alleging Newman came to North Korea with a tourist group in October and afterward `` perpetrated acts of infringing upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK and slandering its socialist system . '' Searching for spies . This story claimed that Newman tried to `` look for spies and terrorists who conducted espionage and subversive activities against the DPRK . '' Investigators determined that , as a member of the U.S. military , he `` masterminded espionage and subversive activities ... and , in this course , he was involved in the killings of service personnel of the Korean People 's Army and innocent civilians . '' `` The investigation clearly proved Newman 's hostile acts against the DPRK , and they were backed by evidence , '' the KCNA story added . `` He admitted all his crimes and made an apology for them . '' Until now , Pyongyang had not explained why it was holding Newman . Family begs for his release . There was no apparent immediate response from the U.S. government to the reported apology or the accompanying North Korean official news report . Washington does not have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang , and it has been working through Sweden -- the U.S. protecting power in North Korea -- to obtain information about the American . The retired financial consultant was last seen aboard a flight from Pyongyang to Beijing . Just minutes before the plane was to depart , he was removed from the flight by North Korean authorities . According to his family , he had been on a 10-day organized private tour of North Korea . From phone calls and postcards he sent , the trip was going well and there was no indication of any kind of problem , his son said . Family begged for his return . Newman 's family could not be immediately reached for comment about the North Korean claims or the reported apology . But in recent days , they had voiced their concern about him . In an interview with CNN on Monday , his wife said they hoped he 'd be home for Thanksgiving . `` We need to have Merrill back at the head of the table for the holidays . And we ask -- respectfully -- for them to release him and let him come home , '' Lee Newman told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer . She said Newman has a heart condition and only packed enough medicine for the trip . She has sent packages of medication , but said she does not know whether he has received them . Other detained Americans . Newman is one of two American citizens being held in North Korea . The other one , Kenneth Bae , was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor . The North Korean government has said he was found guilty of `` hostile acts '' and attempts to topple the government . CNN 's Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report .
Merrill Newman was detained more than a month ago in North Korea , his family says . Score: 6 `` I committed indelible offensive acts against '' North Korea , he reportedly says . State news claims investigators found Newman `` masterminded espionage ''