North Korea released on Wednesday three American prisoners, clearing a major obstacle ahead of a landmark summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.
They were released during a visit to North Korea by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump revealed that the three men were freed after Pompeo met Kim. They will return home on Pompeo’s plane.
“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 to be in good health,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
“I appreciate Kim Jong Un doing this and allowing them to go,” Trump told reporters at the White House. He also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying Beijing was “helpful” in securing the men’s freedom, and described pre-summit discussions with North Korea as “serious and positive.”
Kim had held talks on Monday and Tuesday with Xi in China. The second such visit for the North Korean leader in two months.
The three Americans will be personally greeted by Trump upon their arrival in Washington on Thursday morning.
The release, which was praised by the White House as a “gesture of goodwill,” appeared to signal an effort by Kim to set a more favorable tone for the planned summit and followed his recent pledge to suspend missile tests and shut Pyongyang’s nuclear bomb test site.
While Kim is giving up the last of his American detainees, whom North Korea has often used as bargaining chips with the United States, a release could also be aimed at pressuring Trump to make concessions of his own in his bid to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear arsenal, something it has not signaled a willingness to do.
But Wednesday’s announcement gave Trump a chance to tout a diplomatic achievement just a day after his decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal drew heavy criticism from European allies and others.
The family of Tony Kim, one of freed prisoners, thanked Trump, saying in a statement: “We are very grateful for the release of our husband and father, Tony Kim, and the other two American detainees.”
Trump spoke with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in following the release, telling him he expected it would positively affect the summit, according to the Blue House.
Seoul echoed that sentiment, with Moon's press secretary predicting it would be a "very positive factor" for the talks' success, according to a statement cited by Yonhap news agency.
Seoul also called on Pyongyang to also release six South Korean detainees.
The three are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul; Kim Sang-duk, also known as Tony Kim, who spent a month teaching at the foreign-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) before he was arrested in 2017; and Kim Hak-song, who also taught at PUST.
North Korean state media says they were detained either for subversion or committing “hostile acts” against the government. Many of the foreigners detained by North Korea in the past have said the government forced them into making confessions to false or trumped-up charges.
Speaking to reporters as he returned from North Korea, Pompeo said his meetings with the North Koreans were “very productive.” A U.S. official who participated in the talks said the two sides agreed to “meet again in person to finalize the details.”
Trump said on Wednesday that agreement had been reached on a date and venue for the summit and details would be announced within a few days. He said, however, the meeting would not take place at the heavily fortified demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. He has also previously cited Singapore as another possible site.
The White House said the three Americans appeared to be in good condition and all were able to walk without assistance onto the plane.
“I think there is reason for some optimism that these talks could be fruitful,” U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said of the coming summit.
