U.S. welcomes three Americans released from North Korea
- 6 years ago
Three Americans released from North Korean prison return home.
This comes after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for talks with top officials in Pyongyang.
President Donald Trump was at the airport to personally greet them all.
Won Jung-hwan starts us off with what could be seen as a positive development as Washington and Pyongyang gear up for an historic summit.
The three Americans released from detention in North Korea are back in the U.S.
They arrived at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C.,... and President Trump was there to board the plane and greet them at around 3-AM, local time.
He and the first lady escorted the three down the stairs onto American soil,… and announced their official welcome to the press.
In his remarks, President Trump expressed his gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for releasing them.
"We very much appreciate he allow them to go before the meeting."
They had been detained for more than a year,… and among them, Kim Dong-chul, a Christian pastor, had been detained the longest -- more than 900 days.
The other two, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim -- who both worked at a Pyongyang university, were detained by the North Korean regime about a year ago.
Their families weren't able to meet them at the base when they arrived, but they have issued a statement thanking President Trump for engaging directly with North Korea.
As the three men stepped onto the tarmac, there were cheers from the press when they saw they were in good condition and able to walk without assistance.
But when asked about their time in North Korea, it was clear that they had been through a lot.
"They treated us in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor, but when I got sick I also got medical attention."
The Americans' return is another step towards possibly a new era of relations between Pyongyang and Washington... as the summit between Kim and Trump draws closer.
Exact details about the summit have still not been released,... but the result of Pompeo's visit is evidence that the two leaders might be able to work together for peace,... despite their countries' decades of enmity.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
This comes after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for talks with top officials in Pyongyang.
President Donald Trump was at the airport to personally greet them all.
Won Jung-hwan starts us off with what could be seen as a positive development as Washington and Pyongyang gear up for an historic summit.
The three Americans released from detention in North Korea are back in the U.S.
They arrived at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C.,... and President Trump was there to board the plane and greet them at around 3-AM, local time.
He and the first lady escorted the three down the stairs onto American soil,… and announced their official welcome to the press.
In his remarks, President Trump expressed his gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for releasing them.
"We very much appreciate he allow them to go before the meeting."
They had been detained for more than a year,… and among them, Kim Dong-chul, a Christian pastor, had been detained the longest -- more than 900 days.
The other two, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim -- who both worked at a Pyongyang university, were detained by the North Korean regime about a year ago.
Their families weren't able to meet them at the base when they arrived, but they have issued a statement thanking President Trump for engaging directly with North Korea.
As the three men stepped onto the tarmac, there were cheers from the press when they saw they were in good condition and able to walk without assistance.
But when asked about their time in North Korea, it was clear that they had been through a lot.
"They treated us in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor, but when I got sick I also got medical attention."
The Americans' return is another step towards possibly a new era of relations between Pyongyang and Washington... as the summit between Kim and Trump draws closer.
Exact details about the summit have still not been released,... but the result of Pompeo's visit is evidence that the two leaders might be able to work together for peace,... despite their countries' decades of enmity.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.