Statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea.

North Korea sentenced U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller to six years hard labour for committing "hostile acts" as a tourist to the isolated country, a statement carried by state media said on Sunday.

Miller, from Bakersfield, California, and in his mid-20s, entered North Korea in April this year whereupon he tore up his tourist visa and demanded Pyongyang grant him asylum, according to a release from state media at the time.