Americans detained in North Korea call for US help

PYONGYANG, North Korea (KABC) -- Three Americans detained in North Korea were allowed to speak to reporters Monday. They called for the U.S. to send a high-ranking representative to negotiate for their freedom.

A CNN reporter spoke with each of the captives for about five minutes at a hotel in Pyongyang. The CNN team was on a government tour when they were told they "had to leave immediately" to meet with a high-level government official. The crew boarded a van to a secret location, and without warning, was introduced to the three detained Americans.

Matthew Todd Miller, 24, of Bakersfield, was taken into custody in mid-April, according to North Korea's government news agency. The agency said he tore up his tourist visa and shouted that he wanted to seek asylum in North Korea, but it's unclear why.

During his interview with CNN, Miller said his "situation is very urgent."

"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," said Miller.

North Korea says Jeffrey Fowle, 56, of Ohio, violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." A Japanese news agency reported that Fowle was part of a tour group when he was detained in May for allegedly leaving a bible inside the hotel room where he had been staying.

"I'm good for the time being, but I need to let people know I'm getting desperate. I'm getting desperate for help," said Fowle. "I understand there are now three Americans in detention now here in the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) which I think is the most since the Pueblo incident."

CNN also interviewed Kenneth Bae from Seattle. The 46-year-old Korean-American missionary has been held since November 2012. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea after the government accused him of carrying out acts aimed at bringing down the regime of leader Kim Jong Un.

"My health is failing. Since the last time I was transferred back from the hospital to the camp, I lost already 15 pounds or more and then it's been very difficult to stay in the camp right now," said Bae.

The U.S. has repeatedly offered to send its envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to seek a pardon for Bae and other U.S. detainees, but without success. Washington has no diplomatic ties with North Korea and no embassy in Pyongyang. Instead, the Swedish Embassy takes responsibility for U.S. consular affairs.

Bae's sister released a statement Monday appealing North Korean officials to show mercy and release her brother. She says he has confessed to the crimes with which he was charged and has served a longer detainment than any other American since the war.

Analysts say Kim Jong Un's regime doesn't want Bae's health to get worse or for him to die in their custody. They say North Korea's goal may be to try to get the U.S. to agree to nuclear arms control, to accept them as a nuclear state, which the U.S. can't do.

The Obama administration says its doing all it can to win the earliest possible release for the detainees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.