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US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that three American detainees have been released from North Korea and that the time and venue of his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been set.
“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.
“Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set,” Trump said.
Trump said Pompeo and the detainees will be arriving at Andrews Air Force Base at 2 a.m. Thursday.
“I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!” Trump said.
The North’s release of the three Korean Americans, who have been held for as long as two years and seven months, is a goodwill gesture designed to show Trump ahead of the summit that the North is serious about improving relations with the US.
The three men -- Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul -- were detained in North Korea on charges of espionage or “hostile acts” against the regime.
The planned meeting between Trump and Kim heightened expectations for their release.
Pompeo flew to Pyongyang Tuesday to prepare for the unprecedented summit. It was his second trip there since Easter weekend.
Trump has said he will sit down with Kim late this month or early next month to discuss the dismantlement of the regime’s nuclear weapons program.
Possible sites include the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas, and Singapore. (Yonhap)
