- NEW: Washington calls for the immediate release of Miller and Kenneth Bae
- A court says Matthew Todd Miller committed "acts hostile" to North Korea
- He previously told CNN, "I deliberately committed my crime"
- That interview was monitored by the North Korean government
(CNN) -- For months he was held captive by the North Korean regime, not even sure what he would be charged with.
Then in one fell swoop, American citizen Matthew Todd Miller was convicted of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor, North Korean state-run media reported Sunday.
While Miller's fate is now clear, the circumstances surrounding his alleged crime remain murky.
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the 24-year-old arrived in North Korea as a tourist on April 10 and ripped up his tourist visa, shouted his desire to seek asylum and said "he came to the DPRK after choosing it as a shelter."
Matthew Todd Miller, one of three Americans detained in North Korea, spoke to CNN's Will Ripley on Monday, September 1, and implored the U.S. government for help. The 24-year-old is accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry. Dressed in a black turtleneck and often avoiding eye contact, Miller told CNN he has admitted his guilt -- even though he won't learn of his charges until he goes to trial. 
Jeffrey Edward Fowle, another one of the Americans detained in North Korea, is accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel where he was staying. North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." Fowle told CNN: "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK." 
In May 2013, a North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. North Korea claimed Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime. In a short interview with CNN on Monday, September 1, Bae said he is working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp. "Right now what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me," he said. 
American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers on August 24 after nearly two years in captivity. He is believed to have been captured in October 2012 and held by the al-Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda. 
Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has been in Cuban custody since December 2009, when he was jailed while working as a subcontractor. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf, but they were unable to secure his release. 
This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31. Bergdahl was released in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military. 
An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA. 
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN in January that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority. 
Warren Weinstein, a contractor held by al Qaeda militants, is a U.S. citizen who has been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011. 
U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport on December 7, 2013, after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained in October 2013 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman said the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency. 
Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released a few days later and is now back in the United States. 
Saeed Abedini, a 33-year-old U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013. He was accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches. 
North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her right, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton. 
Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner. 
Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month after he was detained in April 2011. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues. 
Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010 without any apparent U.S. intervention. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul. 
Josh Fattal, center, Sarah Shourd, left, and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted. 
Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was detained at Iran's Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security. 
Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial. 
Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April 2013 on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. He was released in June 2013. Americans detained abroad
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Photos: Americans detained abroad 
N. Korea: American gets 6-year sentence DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Its government is a communist dictatorship renowned for human rights abuses.
Washington demands release
Early Monday, the U.S. State Department demanded that North Korea release Miller and fellow American prisoner Kenneth Bae.
"The charges for which he (Miller) and the other detained U.S. citizens were arrested and imprisoned would not give rise to arrest or imprisonment in the United States or in many other countries around the world," said spokesman Darby Holladay.
He also asked for amnesty for the men and for American Jeffrey Fowle.
Fowle, 56, was arrested in June while traveling as a tourist. Holladay said that U.S. citizens are discouraged from visiting the country.
Miller talks to CNN
Earlier this month, Miller told CNN's Will Ripley that he "prepared to violate the law of DPRK before coming here. And I deliberately committed my crime."
But Miller didn't elaborate on what his "crime" was. He said he wouldn't learn of his charges until he went to trial.
It's unclear whether his statements were made freely or under coercion.
The North Korean government surprised CNN by presenting Miller and two other detained Americans -- Kenneth Bae and Jeffrey Edward Fowle -- for interviews. Each five-minute interview was monitored by the government.
"My situation is very urgent," Miller told CNN. "... Very soon, I'm going to trial and I will directly be sent to prison. I think this interview is my final chance to push the American government into helping me."
How North Korea may be using U.S. detainees as 'bargaining chips'
A quiet California kid
Miller's family lives in Bakersfield, California. Close friends and neighbors told CNN they were instructed by the family not to speak to reporters.
Miller is a 2008 graduate of Bakersfield High School, according to CNN affiliate KBAK.
A few classmates told CNN that Miller seemed like an average kid. Two said they barely remembered him because he was so quiet.
In a July interview, a neighbor told The Associated Press that Miller went to South Korea about four years ago to visit his brother and that he found a job teaching English.
He traveled to North Korea this year after arranging a private tour through the U.S.-based company Uri Tours, which takes tourists into North Korea.
Uri Tours has said it doesn't have "any understanding of why" Miller ripped up his visa.
The company offers tours despite U.S. State Department warnings that U.S. citizens have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention in North Korea.
Miller's case presents many questions, said Robert Kelly, an American who teaches International studies at Pusan National University in South Korea.
"If he wanted asylum, why's he trying to get out?" Kelly asked. "Now, he changes his mind? This is why the (U.S.) State Department encourages citizens not to go to North Korea."
CNN's Madison Park, Gabe LaMonica and Christabelle Fombu contributed to this report.
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