Pompeo visits North Korea, returns with 3 US detainees
Three US citizens detained in North Korea were released on Wednesday, ahead of a planned summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
The Korean-American men, who all have the surname of Kim but are not related, were set free after being held for as long as two years in the isolated nation, Trump tweeted.
“I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting,” Trump wrote. “They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.”
Trump did not disclose the date and location of the summit planned with Kim.
Ahead of the prisoners’ release, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said such a move would be “a sign of goodwill” before the TrumpKim summit.
Kim has taken a series of steps this year to ease tensions with the US after he declared North Korea had the capability to target any American city with a nuclear weapon. Trump welcomed the gestures, even while keeping the military option on the table if the planned talks collapse.
Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged last month to end their seven-decade war this year and pursue the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula. The US is seeking “complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation” as part of any deal.
The release of three Americans is a small price for Kim to pay for a meeting with Trump. While the move gives Trump the first real win from his decision to break with decades of diplomatic orthodoxy, it says little about Kim’s willingness to surrender the “treasured sword” of his nuclear weapons programme.
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