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The family has had no contact with Merrill Newman of Palo Alto, California, since he was detained on October 26, Jeff Newman said.
"This is a misunderstanding. My father is a (Korean War) veteran and wanted to see the country and culture he has been interested in for years," Newman said. "He arranged this with a travel agent that was recommended and said was approved by the North Korean government for travel of foreigners. He had all the proper visas."
The U.S. State Department is aware of the reports of Newman's detention, but declined to confirm the man's identity.
"Obviously, we've seen the reports," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "As you know, the protection of citizens overseas is one of our top priorities. But we don't have any further info that we can provide at this point."
Jeff Newman said his family has been working through the State Department since they found out that his father was being held.
"We've worked through the State Department from the day he was supposed to depart," Newman said later on CNN's AC360. "...We've heard nothing."
What Newman said he has heard has primarily come from his father's traveling companion, who was on the plane when he was taken off. He identified the traveling companion as Bob Hamrdla, a friend who lives in the same retirement community.
North Korea has not publicly acknowledged it detained Newman. But the family believes the elder Newman's military service during the Korean War may be related to his detention, his son said.
The day before Newman was to leave North Korea, he and his tour guide met with "one or two Korean authorities," his son said.
During that meeting, Newman's service record was discussed, he said.
"I understand my dad was a bit bothered," Newman said. But neither he nor his traveling companion believed there was an issue.
The next day, Newman and Hamrdla boarded a plane for Beijing.
Five minutes before the plane was to depart, authorities boarded and asked to see Newman's passport, his son said.
According to the traveling companion's account, the authorities then asked the elder Newman to leave the plane with them, Jeff Newman said.
When the plane landed, Hamrdla immediately contacted the U.S. Embassy in Beijing to report Newman had been taken off the plane, the younger Newman said.
The elder Newman was enjoying the trip and called home from North Korea to tell his wife about it, his son said. The family also received postcards sent by Newman during the tour of North Korea, he said.
The younger Newman called his father "old school," saying he never talked about his service and the Korean War.
The trip to North Korean was "months in the planning," the younger Newman said. His father and Hamrdla booked the trip through a Chinese tour company that set up the tour, which included the services of two tour guides.
"It was the trip of a lifetime," he said.
The elder Newman suffers from a heart condition, his son said. Medication was delivered to the North Koreans via Swedish diplomats, but he said he is unsure if the medication made it into his father's hands.
"We would like to know his status. We would like the Swedish embassy to meet with him to ensure he's getting his medication," Jeff Newman said. "At the end of the day, we'd like him to get on a plane and fly back to San Francisco. He's an 85-year-old man who followed all the protocols. He did everything that he was supposed to do."
Newman is the second American being held in North Korean.
Kenneth Bae, an American citizen, was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced in May to 15 years of hard labor. The North Korean government has said he was found guilty of "hostile acts" and attempts to topple the government.
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