The U.S is attempting to confirm reports that an American missionary illegally crossed into North Korea via China on Christmas Day in an attempt to shed light on human rights violations in the North.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters that Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in North Korea, has expressed its will to look into the situation regarding Robert Park.

The 29-year-old American of Korean descent belongs to an international campaign for North Korean human rights called “Freedom and Life For All North Koreans: 2009.”