North Korea's Supreme Court has sentenced American citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years of hard labor on charges of committing "hostile acts" against the state.    

The Korean Central News Agency, the official mouthpiece of the authorities in Pyongyang, said Miller, of Bakersfield, Calif., committed the crime upon his arrival in the country on a tourist visa in April.

Like Us on Facebook

Pictures of Miller in the courtroom showed him in the defendant's seat, guarded by security officers in uniform.

North Korea had alleged that Miller, believed to be in his mid-20s, tore up his visa at the airport, shouting that he had come to the country to seek asylum.

During earlier interviews with CNN and the Associated Press in the presence of North Korean officials, Miller apologized for his crime but did not talk about the asylum issue.

Miller is one of three Americans being held in North Korea.

In April 2013, Kenneth Bae, 46, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor after being found guilty of preaching against and plotting to overthrow the North Korean government.

The other American, 56-year-old Jeffrey Fowle, is expected to stand trial soon. He has also been charged with committing hostile acts against North Korea.

Fowle, a municipal worker from Ohio, came to North Korea with a tourist visa. He was arrested after apparently leaving a Bible in his hotel room, and was called for investigation for acts "inconsistent with the purpose of a tourist visit," according to Christianity Today.

Earlier this month, Miller, Bae and Fowle appealed to the U.S. government for help to secure their release.

During an interview with CNN at a Pyongyang hotel, Miller described his situation as "very urgent." Bae asked for prayers, and voiced concerns about his health, the Christianity Today report said.

Washington has offered to send the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, Robert King, to Pyongyang to negotiate the release of the Americans, but North Korea has refused to see him.

Tagsnorth korea prison sentence, Matthew Todd Miller