( CNN ) -- The imprisoned American man who allegedly confessed to crimes in North Korea is not the same son his mother remembers . `` He 's not my usual son , kind of different , '' Myunghee Bae , mother of Kenneth Bae , told CNN 's Chris Cuomo on Wednesday . Kenneth Bae , who has been jailed in North Korea for 15 months , told reporters there that he committed a `` serious crime '' in the secretive nation and that he had not experienced abusive treatment by the regime . But any statement made by Bae in captivity would be sanctioned by the North Korean government , whose widespread human rights abuses are known to the world . The country has a long history of exacting false confessions . There was something off , his mother said , when she saw him on television . `` He 's not my usual son , kind of different . My heart aches when I saw him , '' she said . In his remarks , Kenneth Bae asked the U.S. government , the media and his family to not make things worse by spreading `` vile rumors '' about North Korea . He also asked his family and other supporters to make more active efforts to secure his freedom . `` We 're hoping that we 're getting closer to the end , '' Bae 's sister , Terri Chung , told CNN . `` I 'm glad that he had a platform to speak , but it is also flooded back with a lot of mixed emotions , watching him in that prison uniform . '' The family is scared for him , Chung said , and is appealing to anyone who may help Bae 's cause . `` We believe that Kenneth is being treated well , as he said , and we hope that North Korean authorities will have mercy and allow Kenneth to come home , '' she said . The U.S. government is doing what it can , Chung said , adding that she thinks that `` things are in the works . '' Bae , of Lynwood , Washington , was arrested in November 2012 in Rason , along North Korea 's northeastern coast . The devout Christian and father of three operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North Korea , according to his family and freekennow.com , a website that friends set up to promote his release . `` He looks very distressed , '' Bae 's mother said . `` He has a strong , strong mind , but , I do n't know , after 15 months , he has to maintain the same stable mind all the time . I 'm kind of worried about that . '' CNN 's Judy Kwon and Josh Levs contributed to this report .
Kenneth Bae has been imprisoned in North Korea for 15 months . He told reporters that he committed a crime and is being treated well . But North Korea is known for reviewing anything he says . Comment: ` I 'm kind of worried about '' his state of mind , mother says .