North Korea reportedly hands Trump another big win by releasing US prisoners

North Korea has released three US detainees in the country, according to media reports, and it meets some of President Donald Trump demands for Pyongyang to demonstrate sincerity before the historic meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Kim Dong-cheol, Kim Sang-deok, and Kim Hak-seong — three US citizens detained in North Korea for years — have been released from a suspected labor camp and given health treatment and ideological education in Pyongyang, according to the Financial Times.

“We heard it through our sources in North Korea late last month. We believe that Mr Trump can take them back on the day of the US-North Korea summit or he can send an envoy to take them back to the US before the summit,” said Choi Sung-ryong, who campaigns for the release of detainees in North Korea.

The news follows Trump’s hawkish National Security Adviser, John Bolton, calling for the release of the detainees. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly spoke with Kim about the detainees during the pair’s secretive meeting in April. – READ MORE </s> North Korea frees three US detainees ahead of Trump summit

North Korea has freed three American detainees, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, hailing a diplomatic victory ahead of a planned summit with Kim Jong Un.

Pyongyang granted the three men “amnesty,” a US official said, and they are now on their way back to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Two of the men, agricultural expert Kim Hak-song and former professor Tony Kim were arrested in 2017, while Kim Dong-chul, a South Korea-born American businessman and pastor in his 60s, was sentenced to 10 years’ hard labor in 2016.

“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 tweeted.

The White House said all three men were able to walk unassisted onto a US Air Force plane that carried them and the secretary of state out of North Korea.

A second plane, with more robust medical equipment, waited for them at Yokota Air Force Base, just outside Tokyo.

“All indications are their health is as good as could be given they been through,” said Pompeo.

The family of Tony Kim voiced their gratitude to “all of those who have worked toward and contributed to his return home” — and specifically thanking Trump for “engaging directly with North Korea.”

“Mostly, we thank God for Tony’s safe return,” the family said in a statement. “We ask that you continue to pray for the people of North Korea and for the release of all who are still being held.”

Trump meanwhile described the release as “a gesture of good will” and said he would be on hand when Pompeo’s three “guests” land at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington at 2:00 am (0600 GMT) Thursday.

Trump acolytes declared the release an unbridled political victory, evidence, Vice President Mike Pence said, that “strong leadership and our America First policies are paying dividends.”

The men’s release appears to pave the way for a much-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim, scheduled to take place within weeks.

Summit details to follow

 Trump says a time, date and location have been decided for that historic summit, although US officials say there are still some details to be worked out.

Pompeo told reporters the administration would “in the next handful of days be able to announce date and time.”

Possible locations include Singapore and the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea.

The meeting will discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons program, which may soon give Pyongyang the capability of striking the continental United States.

Trump has demanded that North Korea give up its nukes, while Kim has offered few indications about what he is willing to concede or what he will demand in return.

North Korea has often insisted that the United States withdraw support for South Korea, where 30,000-plus US military personnel are stationed.

Since coming to office Trump has embarked on a campaign of “maximum pressure” on the North Korean regime.

A series of provocative North Korean missile tests have been met with US sanctions and a tougher Chinese stance on cross border trade.

Officials in Washington believe the punitive economic measures have prompted fuel shortages in North Korea and increased tension inside the regime.

North Korea official Kim Yong Chul, who met Pompeo in Pyongyang, insisted the country’s openness to talks was “not the result of sanctions that have been imposed from outside,” but a change in regime focus.

“We have perfected our nuclear capability. It is our policy to concentrate all efforts into economic progress in country,” he said.

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This post was syndicated from The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper – Nigeria and World News. Click here to read the full text on the original website. </s> The White House said on Thursday it would welcome the release of three Americans imprisoned in North Korea as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but that it could not confirm reports that they are about to be freed. Expectations have grown that North Korea would soon release the three ahead of the unprecedented summit in the coming weeks. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s new main lawyer, told Fox News Channel that Pyongyang would release them as early as Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether Giuliani had direct knowledge of negotiations around the issue. CNN, citing an unnamed source, said on Thursday the prisoners’ release was imminent, adding the groundwork for the move was laid two months ago when North Korea’s foreign minister traveled to Sweden and proposed the idea. “We can’t confirm the validity of any of the reports currently out about their release, but we certainly would see this as a sign of goodwill if North Korea were to release the three Americans ahead of discussions between President Trump and Kim Jong Un,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

The three are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong Chul, arrested in 2015; 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 and was detained in 2017. Trump did not mention Korea or the prisoners when he spoke at a prayer event at the White House on Thursday. “Our country is doing very well. You’ll see some very good announcements very shortly,” he said. On Wednesday, Trump said on Twitter, “As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!” But of the three, only Kim Dong Chul was arrested before Trump became president in January 2017. The U.S. government is looking into reports that the Americans had recently been relocated from a labor camp to a hotel near Pyongyang, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.The summit between Trump and Kim is expected to take place in late May or early June.

In preparing for the summit, Trump’s administration has said it wants North Korea’s “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” but has offered few details of the strategy it will employ at the talks. Kim told the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, on Thursday that he is committed to denuclearization, China’s foreign ministry said, as diplomatic efforts to bring lasting peace to the Korean peninsula gather pace. “Kim Jong Un said achieving the denuclearization of the peninsula is the firm position of the North Korean side,” China’s foreign ministry said after Wang met Kim in Pyongyang. North Korea announced on Sunday that it would close its main nuclear test site next month but some U.S. officials are skeptical that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear arsenal.

Trump has promised to ensure that North Korea does not get the capability to build a nuclear bomb that can hit the mainland United States. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is postponing his plans to travel to Brazil this month in order to ensure foreign policy resources are focused on Trump’s talks with Kim, Pence’s spokeswoman said. The exact date and location has yet to be fixed for the meeting between Trump and Kim, who lobbed personal insults and lambasted each other last year over North Korea’s nuclear arms ambitions. The change in tone has been helped by last week’s meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, at which the two pledged to work for “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula. Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions ahead of his own meeting with Kim.

Even as Washington presses for the release of the three American prisoners, the parents of a U.S. college student who died last year soon after being release from captivity in North Korea have sued Pyongyang over their son’s death, saying Otto Warmbier was “brutally tortured and murdered.” Warmbier’s parents told a meeting at the United Nations on Thursday that they would no longer be silent and believed they had to stand up for their son and other families whose loved ones had been abducted by North Korea. “The only thing we can do is rub their noses in this. It embarrasses them,” said Cindy Warmbier, Otto’s mother. “You can’t negotiate. You just have to shame them.” </s> US President Donald Trump hinted today that there would be imminent news about three Americans detained in North Korea, after sources said they had been relocated ahead of their possible release. The development comes as Trump is preparing for a historic summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “The past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labour camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!” Trump wrote on Twitter. The United States has been demanding the North free Kim Hak-song, Kim Sang-duk and Kim Dong-chul and reports have said the two sides were close to reaching a deal on their release. “They are staying in a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang,” Choi Sung-ryong, a South Korean activist with contacts in the North told AFP earlier, adding the three were being kept separately but “going on tours, receiving medical treatment and eating good food.”

Diplomatic sources in Pyongyang have said there were rumours that the three had been relocated, but there had been no confirmation of their exact whereabouts. The release of the three men was discussed when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Pyongyang last month, according to the Wall Street Journal. Kim Dong-chul, a South Korea-born American pastor, has been detained in the North since 2015 when he was arrested for spying. He was sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour in 2016. Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang-duk — or Tony Kim — were both working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, founded by evangelical Christians from overseas, when they were detained last year on suspicion of “hostile acts.” </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the release of three Americans from North Korea (all times local):

President Donald Trump is hailing the release of three Americans detained in North Korea as they make their way back home.

Trump says as he kicks off a Cabinet meeting at the White House that he "appreciates" North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's decision to release the detainees ahead of the leaders' planned summit.

He says he's looking forward to the meeting and believes it's going to be a great thing for North Korea.

Trump broke the news on Twitter earlier Wednesday that the detainees were on their way back to the U.S. with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump said he would be greeting them at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m. Thursday.

He says of the arrival: "I think it will be a very special time."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is welcoming North Korea's release of three Americans as a hopeful sign ahead of President Donald Trump's meeting with leader Kim Jong Un.

The Kentucky Republican says he's hopeful that "by approaching our ongoing negotiations with clear eyes, we can build on this progress and pursue a verifiable agreement to dismantle North Korea's nuclear arms."

McConnell spoke Wednesday as he opened the Senate.

Earlier in the day, Trump announced that the three detainees were on their way back to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo was briefly in the country this week making plans for the leaders' upcoming summit.

The White House says President Donald Trump views North Korea's release of three American citizens "as a positive gesture of goodwill."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the three Americans "appear to be in good condition" and says they were "able to walk on the plane without assistance."

Trump announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on his way back from North Korea with the three American detainees.

Sanders says, "All Americans look forward to welcoming them home and to seeing them reunited with their loved ones."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he had a "good, lengthy" conversation with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and that a date and time for a summit with President Donald Trump has been set.

After departing Pyongyang Wednesday, Pompeo said the summit details will be announced "in the next handful of days." He said the two sides need to coordinate in the days ahead on setting conditions for a successful meeting.

Pompeo says the three American detainees freed as a goodwill gesture seem to be in good health "given all they have been through."

Pompeo was on the ground in North Korea for 13 hours. That included a 90-minute meeting with Kim — their second meeting in little more than a month.

Pompeo spoke to reporters during a stop-over in Japan on his way back to the U.S.

Vice President Mike Pence says the U.S. "will not let off the pressure" on North Korea "until we achieve full denuclearization."

Pence says President Donald Trump's "tough minded diplomacy" has led to the release of three Americans detained in North Korea.

Trump announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was returning from North Korea with the three Americans.

Pence says Pompeo did a "remarkable job" overseeing their release and calls it a "proud and memorable moment for America."

A U.S. official says that "substantial progress" has been made on plans for a U.S.-North Korean leadership summit during Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang.

While Pompeo met with top North Korean leaders, including Kim Jong Un, lower-level officials from the two countries were planning the nuts-and-bolts logistics for a meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump.

The U.S. official, who was involved in those talks, said the two sides would meet once again to finalize the details.

No specifics were offered although other officials said Singapore is emerging as the most likely venue. The unprecedented meeting has been slated for this month or early June.

Before seeing Kim, Pompeo met twice with the head of the North's United Front department that oversees relations between North and South Korea.

The family of one of the Americans freed from North Korea is expressing gratitude for his release.

The family of 59-year-old Tony Kim is thanking "all of those who have worked toward and contributed to his return home." In a statement, the family credited President Donald Trump for engaging directly with North Korea.

"Mostly, we thank God for Tony's safe return," the statement said. It added that the family appreciates "the support and prayers of friends and even strangers during this challenging year."

The statement was forwarded to The Associated Press by Randall Brandt, a spokesman for the family, shortly after Trump announced Wednesday that three Americans were coming home.

The statement urged people to "continue to pray for the people of North Korea and for the release of all who are still being held."

President Donald Trump says Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on his way back from North Korea with three American detainees, saying they "seem to be in good health."

Trump made the announcement on Twitter Wednesday, saying "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."

Trump added that Pompeo had a "good meeting" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump is planning a historic summit with the North Korean leader.

In another Tweet, Trump said Pompeo and the detainees will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m. Thursday. He says "I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!"

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in North Korea to finalize plans for a historic summit between President Donald Trump and the North's leader, Kim Jong Un.

U.S. officials say Pompeo will also be pressing North Korea for the release of three detained American citizens, whose imminent release Trump has been hinting at.

The trip is Pompeo's second to North Korea this year. It had not been publicly disclosed when he flew out of Washington under cover of darkness late Monday aboard an Air Force 757.

Trump announced the mission Tuesday afternoon as he laid out the case for withdrawing from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, another bitter U.S. adversary.

When the flight arrived Wednesday morning in Pyongyang, North Korean officials were on hand to greet Pompeo. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Expectations grew on Thursday that North Korea would soon release three Americans held as prisoners as a gesture ahead of an unprecedented U.S.-North Korea summit due to take place in coming weeks.

Rudy Giuliani, who joined President Donald Trump’s legal team last month, told Fox News Channel that Pyongyang would release the three prisoners as early as Thursday.

It was not immediately clear whether Giuliani, a former mayor of New York City, had direct knowledge of negotiations around the issue.

Trump administration officials have pressed for the Americans’ release as a show of goodwill by North Korea before the meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which is expected to take place in late May or early June.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said she could not confirm details about the release, but she said Washington was “cautiously optimistic” about its ongoing talks with Pyongyang.

“Certainly, that would be an incredible step and certainly a sign of goodwill moving into the summit, moving into these discussions with North Korea. I can’t comment any further at this point,” Sanders said in an interview with Fox News.

The three are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong Chul; Kim Sang-duk, 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.

Trump did not mention Korea or the prisoners when he spoke at a prayer event at the White House on Thursday. “Our country is doing very well. You’ll see some very good announcements very shortly,” he said.

Late on Wednesday, Trump said on Twitter, “As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!”

The U.S. government is looking into reports that the Americans had recently been relocated from a labor camp to a hotel near Pyongyang, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

CNN, citing an unnamed source, said on Thursday the prisoners’ release was imminent, adding the groundwork for the move was laid two months ago when North Korea’s foreign minister traveled to Sweden and proposed the idea.

In preparing for the summit with Kim, Trump’s administration has said it wants North Korea’s “complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization” but has offered few details of the strategy it will employ at the talks.

Kim told the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, on Thursday that he is committed to denuclearization, China’s foreign ministry said, as diplomatic efforts to bring lasting peace to the Korean peninsula gather pace.

“Kim Jong Un said achieving the denuclearization of the peninsula is the firm position of the North Korean side,” China’s foreign ministry said after Wang met Kim in Pyongyang.

North Korea announced on Sunday that it would close its main nuclear test site next month but some U.S. officials are skeptical that Pyongyang will give up its nuclear arsenal.

Trump has promised to ensure that North Korea does not get the capability to build a nuclear bomb that can hit the mainland United States.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is postponing his plans to travel to Brazil this month in order to ensure foreign policy resources are focused on Trump’s talks with Kim, Pence’s spokeswoman said.

The exact date and location has yet to be fixed for the meeting between Trump and Kim, who lobbed personal insults and lambasted each other last year over North Korea’s nuclear arms ambitions.

The change in tone has been helped by last week’s meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, at which the two pledged to work for “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula. Trump said he would maintain pressure on Pyongyang through sanctions ahead of his own meeting with Kim.

Even as Washington presses for the release of the three American prisoners, the parents of a U.S. college student who died last year soon after being release from captivity in North Korea have sued Pyongyang over their son’s death, saying Otto Warmbier was “brutally tortured and murdered.” </s> Three American citizens detained in North Korea have been released, according to a tweet by President Donald Trump.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who went to North Korea to finalize plans for a historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, will be landing at Andrews Air Force base with the three at 2 a.m., Trump tweeted. – READ MORE </s> North Korea has released three American hostages ahead of planned talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to The Washington Post .

The detainees are now traveling back to the States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who was visiting the country in preparation for Trump’s meeting with Kim. Trump tweeted on May 9 that Pompeo was returning to the U.S. with “3 wonderful gentlemen” who appear to be "in good health."

The three men, of Korean descent, were suspected to be the last American hostages left in North Korea, according to The New York Times .

Francisco Bencosme, advocacy manager for the Asia Pacific at Amnesty International USA, said in a statement emailed to Teen Vogue that Trump must urge North Korea to respect human rights during his summit with Kim.

“While we welcome the release of three individuals, we remain concerned over the fate of up to 120,000 North Koreans who remain confined in political prison camps,” Bencosme said. “No one should languish behind bars without being given a fair trial.” (In June 2017, 22-year-old American student Otto Warmbier died shortly after returning to the U.S. Warmbier was held for 17 months in North Korea and sentenced to hard labor before he was released, according to Reuters .)

Vox reported that one of the three detainees returning home Thursday was taken during Obama’s presidency, and the other two were detained during Trump’s time in office.

The move by Kim to release the detainees comes as a shift in relations between North Korea and the U.S after Trump called Kim “little rocket man” and threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” just last year, with Kim retorting by calling the president a “mentally deranged U.S. dotard.”

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to remove nuclear weapons from the Korean Peninsula in April. Kim also pledged that North Korea would shut down its main nuclear testing location and stop its nuclear-weapons and long-range-missile tests.

“The nuclear test site has done its job,” Mr. Kim said in a statement released to the media in April.

On May 3, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the hostages' release would indicate “a sign of goodwill” before talks between Trump and Kim.

Yoon Young-chan, a spokesman for South Korean President Moon, praised the release of the Americans, saying it was “very positive for a successful North Korean-United States summit.”

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Want more from Teen Vogue ? Check this out: Otto Warmbier May Have Suffered Cardiopulmonary Arrest </s> WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - Singapore is the most likely venue for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a U.S. official said, after Pyongyang cleared a major obstacle to the meeting with the release of three American prisoners.

The three prisoners, freed after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Kim in the North Korean capital, were flying back to Washington where Trump said he planned to meet them early on Thursday.

The release of the men appeared to signal an effort by Kim to improve the tone for the summit and followed his recent pledge to suspend missile tests and shut a nuclear bomb test site.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Singapore has emerged as the likeliest location for the planned summit after Trump ruled out holding it at the heavily fortified demilitarised zone between North and South Korea.

Trump, who previously said Singapore was under consideration, said agreement had been reached on a date and venue and details would be announced within three days.

The release of the prisoners 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.

“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.

The three men are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul, detained in 2015; 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 and was detained last year.

“We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States for bringing us home,” the three said in a statement released by the State Department as their plane stopped over in Alaska.

“We thank God, and all our families and friends who prayed for us and for our return. God Bless America, the greatest nation in the world.”

North Korean state media said they were arrested either for subversion or “hostile acts” against the government.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that while there was “reason for some optimism” about the Kim-Trump summit, the U.S. troop presence in South Korea would not be part of initial negotiations.

There was also no sign that Pompeo’s visit had cleared up the question of whether North Korea would be willing to bargain away nuclear missiles that might threaten the United States.

Trump has credited his “maximum pressure” campaign for drawing North Korea to the table and has vowed to keep sanctions in place until Pyongyang takes concrete steps to denuclearize.

But former spy chief Kim Yong Chul, director of North Korea’s United Front Department, said in a toast to Pompeo over lunch in Pyongyang: “We have perfected our nuclear capability. It is our policy to concentrate all efforts into economic progress ... This is not the result of sanctions that have been imposed from outside.”

Bonnie Glaser, an Asia expert at Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that while the release was not an explicit precondition for the Trump-Kim meeting, the North Koreans understood that they had to do it for any progress to be made.

“The North Koreans have still said nothing to indicate that they are willing to give up their nuclear weapons, not to mention permanently and verifiably dismantle their nuclear programmes,” she said.

“We have no clarity about Kim’s intentions.”

Pompeo will now meet South Korea’s foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, on Friday to prepare for Trump’s meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-In on May 22 and his later meeting with Kim, the South Korean foreign ministry said.
North Korea has released the three remaining American detainees ahead of the upcoming summit meeting with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. The news came after National Security Adviser John R. Bolton stated that they should be released as a way for North Korea to demonstrate its sincerity in talks.