By Li Hongmei

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said that it would put a US citizen on trial for trying to overthrow the communist state, in the face of soaring tensions between Pyongyang and the West.

The DPRK 's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said US citizen Pae Jun-Ho had admitted to the charges and would soon face "judgment."

Pae was arrested in November as he entered the northeastern port city of Rason, which lies inside a special economic zone near the DPRK 's border with Russia and China.

The announcement follows a months-long standoff on the Korean peninsula stoked by the DPRK's nuclear test in February, which prompted the UN Security Council to impose fresh sanctions on the nation.

KCNA said a "preliminary inquiry" had been completed for Pae.

"He admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence.

"He will soon be taken to the Supreme Court of the DPRK to face judgment," according to the report, which did not say what the charges were based on.

South Korean media in December identified the detainee as a 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator.

He was travelling with five other tourists and was detained when a computer hard disk was found among the group's belongings, according to the South Korean newspaper Kookmin Ilbo.

Several Americans have been held in the DPRK in recent years.