KOREA DETAINEES RETURN

Three Americans detained in North Korea return with Pompeo

SEOUL, South Korea — President Donald Trump scored a diplomatic victory Wednesday as North Korea freed three imprisoned U.S. citizens to return to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a goodwill gesture from the North’s dictator, Kim Jong Un, ahead of his summit with the president.

Trump announced the men’s freedom on Twitter early Wednesday, and two reporters traveling with Pompeo later saw the three Korean-American men boarding the secretary’s plane without assistance as he was set to return to Washington.

Trump said he and Vice President Mike Pence were scheduled to meet the plane at 2 a.m. this morning at Joint Base Andrews.

“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 tweeted.

Later, talking briefly to reporters before a Cabinet meeting, Trump thanked Kim in language that was unimaginable just months ago, as the two exchanged threats of nuclear annihilation.

“I appreciate Kim Jong Un doing this and allowing them to go,” Trump said.

The president also credited the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea for their help in nudging the North Korean leader, and Trump indulged in some self-congratulation as well.

Asked if he thought he personally deserved a Nobel Peace Prize, Trump replied, “Everyone thinks so but I would never say it.”

Later Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that the men’s plane had touched down on American soil in Alaska for a refueling stop, and the State Department released a statement.

“We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home,” they said. “We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world.”

The administration was eager to win the men’s release to provide good diplomatic news to offset the international opprobrium after Trump on Tuesday withdrew the United States

from the 2015 multinational nuclear agreement with Iran. Last week the president had tweeted that the three men’s freedom was “imminent.”

Despite the gesture from Kim, Trump acknowledged that his meeting with the North Korean leader — the first between a sitting American president and a leader of the long-isolated country — could still be “scuttled.”

The U.S. is demanding that North Korea unilaterally give up its nuclear arsenal and building program, something Kim is widely expected to resist.

“Everything can be scuttled,” Trump said.