for valor in combat. North Korean authorities are known to routinely run background checks on foreigners, travel agencies warn potential visitors. The first the decorated combat veteran heard about Newman's detention was in a telephone call from the San Jose Mercury News, which first reported the news of the American's detention. I thought it was a coincidence. I did n't think much about it, Merrill Newman of Beaverton, Oregon, told CNN. Of his service during the war, he only said: I went there, did what I was told and went home, went to college and started a family.... That's what you did in those days. How you travel to North Korea News of the apparent detention came as talks were under way between the United States and China, North Korea's closest ally, about reviving negotiations to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear program. The timing raises questions about whether North Korea plans to use Newman as a bargaining chip in the negotiations, a move the West has previously accused it of doing to try to gain concessions with negotiations. Newman's detentions bring to at least seven the number of American citizens who have been detained by North Korea, including four who allegedly entered the country illegally, according to the State Department. Two other U.S. citizens who entered the country on valid visas were arrested for other reasons, and U.S. officials have received reports