3 American hostages released in North Korea, head home with Pompeo
May 9, 2018, 5:56 AM | Updated: 3:47 pm
People watch a TV news report on screen, showing portraits of three Americans, Kim Dong Chul, left, Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song, right, detained in the North Korea at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 3, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump added to speculation that North Korea may make a goodwill gesture before his planned summit with leader Kim Jong Un when he tweeted of a possible update soon on the status of three detained Americans. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that three American hostages imprisoned in North Korea had been released and that they were returning home with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Korean-Americans Tony Kim, Kim Hak Song and Kim Dong Chul had been held in a labor camp until last week, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had them transferred to a hotel.
The men had been held between one and two years.
In another Tweet, Trump said Pompeo and the detainees will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m. Thursday. He said, “I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!”
Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
Looking forward to greeting the Hostages (no longer) at 2:00 A.M.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
North Korea had accused the trio 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.
Trump had said Tuesday that Pompeo was on his way to North Korea and that “We will soon be finding out” whether the hostages were coming back with the diplomat.
The president added that Pompeo had a “good meeting” with Kim.
During his visit, Pompeo went over the agenda for a potential Trump-Kim summit in a meeting with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the central committee of North Korea’s ruling party.
It was Pompeo’s second visit to North Korea on behalf of the White House. He made his first trip over Easter weekend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
