SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean student at New York University who is being held by North Korea said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that he had entered the reclusive country intending to be arrested, and that he had hoped to bring about better relations between the two Koreas by doing so.

The student, Joo Won-moon, told CNN he had thought that by entering North Korea, “some great event could happen and hopefully that event could have a good effect on the relations” between the North and South. Mr. Joo, 21, who acknowledged entering the country illegally, said he was uncertain what the nature of that “great event” would be.

Mr. Joo, who smiled and seemed at ease, said he was being treated well in detention. The interview was conducted at a hotel in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, according to CNN.

Whether Mr. Joo was speaking freely could not be determined. Though CNN said in an article on its website that North Korean government representatives had arranged the interview, the article did not specify whether representatives were present while it was conducted, as they have been during interviews with other detainees in Pyongyang by foreign news organizations.