Otto Frederick Warmbier, a U.S. student detained in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang this January, appeared at a press conference on Monday morning to offer apologies.

Warmbier said that he had tried to steal a political banner from the Yanggakdo Hotel, where he was staying, as directed by a Christian community based in the U.S.

“I apologize to each and every one of the millions of the Korean people and I beg that you see how I was used and manipulated,” said Warmbier, as quoted by a CNN report.

State media outlet the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a