An American named Kenneth Bae is being held in North Korea and has recently been moved from a hospital to a labor camp, the State Department said on Friday, according to the Associated Press.

Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that the United States was "deeply concerned" by the development, the AP reported.

"We also remain gravely concerned about Mr. Bae's health" and again urge Pyongyang to grant him "special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds," Psaki said, according to the AP. Bae is from Lynwood, Washington, and was arrested in November 2012 in Rason, along North Korea's northeastern coast.

Bae operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North Korea, according to his family, the AP reported. Bae is a self professed devout Christian and has three children.

Since the North Korean government accused Bae of planning to bring down the government through religious activities and last month he told reporters that he had committed a "serious crime" in the secretive nation and that he had not experienced abusive treatment by the regime, the AP reported. Any statement by Bae in captivity would be sanctioned by the North Korean government.

Choson Sinbo claims that Bae has been told to expect a visit from Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, as early as this coming Monday, according to the AP.

Psaki said late last month that the United States is "prepared to send Ambassador King" to North Korea to discuss Bae, adding that "there isn't a plan right now for Ambassador King to travel there," the AP reported.