Korea frees prisoners

THREE US citizens held prisoner in North Korea have been released.

President Trump tweeted yesterday: “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. They seem in good health.”

Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chu were able to “walk on the plane without assistance”, the White House said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in China to meet President Xi Jinping. Trump’s decision was a threat to global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Russia said it was “deeply disappointed”. But the move has been welcomed by Iran’s major rivals Saudi Arabia and Israel.

In the Commons yesterday, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said the president had “risked triggering a nuclear arms race” in the Middle East.

The Labour MP attacked his “recklessness and idiocy”. She said the president had taken the decision without the “slightest justification”.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Britain has “no intention of walking away” from the deal.

He said a watchdog had reported nine times that Iran had complied with the terms of the agreement.

But former defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the “rather flimsy agreement” should never have been considered final, adding Iranian interference had increased.

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MR Johnson told MPs he had interrogated people in the White House and found there is “no enthusiasm for a military option” over Iran. TALKS: With Xi Jinping