occurred to result in the current situation. The 10-day private tour, which included the use of a tour guide, was the culmination of months of planning, Newman's wife said. The postcards sent to friends while on that trip describe good times, good weather and knowledgeable guides, she said in the statement. The family's statement came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on North Korea to release Americans being held, calling the detentions very, very disturbing choices by the North Koreans. Newman is one of two American citizens being held in North Korea. The other one, Kenneth Bae, was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor. The North Korean government has said he was found guilty of hostile acts and attempts to topple the government. North Korea has not publicly said why it is holding Newman. Is American man detained in North Korea a bargaining chip ? Among the possibilities is his military service. He served as an Army infantry officer during the Korean War, which saw North Korea fight South Korea, the United States and the United Nations between 1950 and 1953. An armistice signed in 1953 ended the three-year war between North Korea and South Korea. The two sides technically remain at war. It is also possible North Korean authorities mistook him for another Merrill Newman, a Korean War veteran awarded the Silver Star