For months he was held captive by the North Korean regime , not even sure what he would be charged with . Then in one fell swoop , American citizen Matthew Todd Miller was convicted of committing `` acts hostile '' to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor , North Korean state-run media reported Sunday . While Miller 's fate is now clear , the circumstances surrounding his alleged crime remain murky . According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency , the 24-year-old arrived in North Korea as a tourist on April 10 and ripped up his tourist visa , shouted his desire to seek asylum and said `` he came to the DPRK after choosing it as a shelter . '' DPRK refers to North Korea 's official name , the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea . Its government is a communist dictatorship renowned for human rights abuses . Washington demands release . Early Monday , the U.S. State Department demanded that North Korea release Miller and fellow American prisoner Kenneth Bae . `` The charges for which he ( Miller ) and the other detained U.S. citizens were arrested and imprisoned would not give rise to arrest or imprisonment in the United States or in many other countries around the world , '' said spokesman Darby Holladay . He also asked for amnesty for the men and for American Jeffrey Fowle . Fowle , 56 , was arrested in June while traveling as a tourist . Holladay said that U.S. citizens are discouraged from visiting the country . Miller talks to CNN . Earlier this month , Miller told CNN 's Will Ripley that he `` prepared to violate the law of DPRK before coming here . And I deliberately committed my crime . '' But Miller did n't elaborate on what his `` crime '' was . He said he would n't learn of his charges until he went to trial . It 's unclear whether his statements were made freely or under coercion . The North Korean government surprised CNN by presenting Miller and two other detained Americans -- Kenneth Bae and Jeffrey Edward Fowle -- for interviews . Each five-minute interview was monitored by the government . `` My situation is very urgent , '' Miller told CNN . `` ... Very soon , I 'm going to trial and I will directly be sent to prison . I think this interview is my final chance to push the American government into helping me . '' How North Korea may be using U.S. detainees as 'bargaining chips ' A quiet California kid . Miller 's family lives in Bakersfield , California . Close friends and neighbors told CNN they were instructed by the family not to speak to reporters . Miller is a 2008 graduate of Bakersfield High School , according to CNN affiliate KBAK . A few classmates told CNN that Miller seemed like an average kid . Two said they barely remembered him because he was so quiet . In a July interview , a neighbor told The Associated Press that Miller went to South Korea about four years ago to visit his brother and that he found a job teaching English . He traveled to North Korea this year after arranging a private tour through the U.S.-based company Uri Tours , which takes tourists into North Korea . Uri Tours has said it does n't have `` any understanding of why '' Miller ripped up his visa . The company offers tours despite U.S. State Department warnings that U.S. citizens have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention in North Korea . Miller 's case presents many questions , said Robert Kelly , an American who teaches International studies at Pusan National University in South Korea . `` If he wanted asylum , why 's he trying to get out ? '' Kelly asked . `` Now , he changes his mind ? This is why the ( U.S. ) State Department encourages citizens not to go to North Korea . ''
Washington called for the immediate release of Miller and Kenneth Bae . A report says that Scott Miller committed ` ` acts hostile '' to North Korea . He previously told CNN , ` ` I deliberately concealed my crime '' That video was monitored by the North Korean government .