Secretary of State John Kerry met with the family of the American who’s been held captive in North Korea since 2012 on Tuesday.
Kenneth Bae was arrested in November 2012 after North Korea said he committed a serious crime.
“We fully support the efforts of the Bae family to bring Kenneth Bae home,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday. “We continue to urge the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to pardon Bae for his actions and grant him amnesty and immediate release.”
{mosads}Last week, Bae told reporters in North Korea’s capital of Pyongyang that he wanted to be pardoned.
He asked the U.S. government, press and his family to “make more active efforts and pay more attention,” according to reports.
Psaki said the State Department’s highest priority is the “welfare and safety” of Americans abroad.
Last April, Bae was sentenced to 15 years in a North Korean prison.
Bae’s family has made frequent media appearances urging for his release. They’ve also urged former basketball star Dennis Rodman, who has made two trips to the nation in the past year, to press North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to release him.
Bae’s mother and sister will attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday night as guests of Reps. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.).
The two lawmakers have also advocated for Bae’s release.