LONDON - Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen imprisoned in North Korea, has appealed to U.S. authorities to help secure his release from prison, an interview published on Wednesday by pro-North Korean newspaper Choson Sinbo and carried by CNN said.

Kenneth Bae now sports a shaved head, stained overalls marked prisoner number '103' and appears to have lost weight since being taken captive by the government in Pyongyang.