朝鲜：被拘禁的美国公民开始在“特殊监狱”服刑

North Korea says an American citizen sentenced to 15 years of hard labor has begun serving his sentence.

The Korean Central News Agency said Kenneth Bae "started his life at a 'special prison' Tuesday." It did not elaborate.

The 44-year-old Korean-American tour operator was found guilty last month of plotting to overthrow the Pyongyang government.

He was arrested in November in the northeastern port city of Rason while in possession of what authorities said was anti-Pyongyang literature.

Last week, the North's supreme court described Bae as a Christian evangelist who was trying to set up "plot-breeding bases" in China aimed at toppling the North's government.