SEOUL, South Korea — An American tour operator is facing indictment in North Korea on charges that he tried to overthrow the government there, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Saturday.

The announcement about the tour operator, Kenneth Bae, an American born in South Korea, could complicate Washington’s diplomatic balancing act as it tries to hold a tough line with North Korea over its nuclear program while avoiding confrontations that could lead to an armed conflict.

Mr. Bae, from Washington State, traveled with a group of businessmen in November from Yanji, China, to the North Korean special economic zone of Rason, where he was arrested. The news report on Saturday said that the North had already finished its investigation and that Mr. Bae had admitted his guilt to charges that could draw the death penalty.

South Korean human rights advocates have described Mr. Bae as a devout Christian who not only ran tours to North Korea, but was also interested in helping orphans in the Communist country. They said security officials in the North may have been offended by pictures of orphans that Mr. Bae had taken and stored in his computer.