SEOUL May 9 (TNS): United States President Trump declared a diplomatic victory on Wednesday by announcing that North Korea had freed three American prisoners, removing a bitter and emotional obstacle ahead of a planned meeting between him and the young leader of the nuclear-armed nation.
According to the New York Times, the release of the three prisoners, all citizens of Korean descent, was in some ways the most tangible gesture of sincerity shown by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to improve relations with the United States after nearly seven decades of mutual antagonism.
Trump said in a tweet that the three were freed following a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Pyongyang, the North’s capital, for more discussions with North Korean officials about the expected meeting between Kim and Trump
The president said that Pompeo was “in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen” and that the group seemed “to be in good health.”
The prisoner release extended the turnabout from last year when the two leaders threatened each other with nuclear war. Kim recently announced that North Korea would stop all nuclear and long-range missile tests and shut down its nuclear test site as gestures of goodwill.
But unlike those announcements, the release of the three Americans is permanent, and Kim forfeited a bargaining chip in freeing them. No other Americans are believed to be held the prisoner in North Korea.
The United States has persistently demanded the release of the three citizens — Kim Dong-Chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song — who were held on charges of committing espionage or unidentified “hostile acts” against North Korea.
