The United States says the illegal entry of a Korean-American missionary into North Korea will not affect U.S. efforts to bring the North back to the six-party nuclear talks.

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday told Yonhap News Agency that Washington considers the matter to be a consular issue unrelated to any security or political issues.

The department added that the U.S. is working with the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang to seek consular access to the detained Korean American named Robert Park. Sweden represents U.S. consular interests in the communist state.