American hostages held in North Korea on their way back home
● Trump tweets about release ● Seen as sign of better relations
Three Americans detained in North Korea for more than a year are on their way back to the US with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump announced yesterday in the latest sign of improving relations between the two longtime adversaries.
Mr Trump said on Twitter that Mr Pompeo was returning with “the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting.” The president, who had been hinting about an imminent release, said he would greet them at Andrews Air Force Base today.
“I appreciate Kim Jong-un doing this and allowing them to go,” Mr Trump said before a meeting of his Cabinet.
The release of the detainees came as Pompeo visited North Korea yesterday to finalise plans for a historic summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim, the North’s leader. Trump told reporters that the summit would not take place at the inter-korean demilitarised zone, and that the venue would be announced within the next three days. Singapore has emerged as the most likely place for the meeting later this month or in early June, officials have indicated.
North Korea had accused Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim, all Korean-americans, of anti-state activities but their arrests were widely seen as politically motivated and had compounded the dire state of relations over the isolated nation’s nuclear weapons.
The family of Tony Kim thanked “all those” who worked for his return and also credited Trump for engaging directly with North Korea. “Mostly we thank God for Tony’s safe return,” the family said in a statement, and they urged people to “continue to pray for the people of North Korea and for the release of all who are still being held.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that Trump viewed the release “as a positive gesture of goodwill.”
The release capped a dramatic day of diplomacy in Pyongyang for Pompeo. After his 90-minute meeting with Kim Jong Un, he gave reporters a fingers-crossed sign when asked about the prisoners as he returned to his hotel. But it was only after a North Korean emissary arrived a bit later to inform him that the release was confirmed.
The three had been held for periods ranging between one and two years. They were the latest in a series of Americans who have been detained by North Korea in recent years for seemingly small offences and typically freed when senior US officials or statesmen personally visited to bail them out.
The last American to be released before this, college student Otto Warmbier, died in June 2017, days after he was repatriated to the US with severe brain damage.
Warmbier was arrested by North Korean authorities in January 2016. He was accused of stealing a propaganda poster and sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labour.
His parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing the government of torturing and killing their son.
On Capitol Hill, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the detainees’ return but warned that “we’ll see many more hostages” if the administration provides an incentive for imprisoning Americans.