North Korea freed two US citizens who were being held in detention, after the US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper flew to the country on a secret mission on Saturday.
US President Barack Obama hailed the release of the two men and praised Clapper, saying,
“I think it’s a wonderful day for them and their families, and obviously we are very grateful for their safe return and I appreciate director Clapper doing a great job on what was obviously a challenging mission.”
The release was also welcomed by US Secretary of State John Kerry who said,
"Their release has been our focus every single day and we've been working all the angles available to bring them home… We're pleased that this humanitarian gesture has taken place."
Matthew Todd Miller and Kenneth Bae were arrested by North Korean authorities in 2014 and 2012 respectively, both being sentenced to hard labour for “hostile acts”.
The release of the two men comes ahead of a three-day trip to Asia by Obama, where he is expected to hold talks with China over the issue of North Korea and their nuclear program. The release of the men though, would not change the US administration’s view on North Korea’s nuclear program said a senior administration official to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Commenting on the release, Joseph DeTrani, the former North Korea mission manager for the Director of National Intelligence, said it was a sign that North Korea "wants to come out of the penalty box."
DeTrani went on to add, “he North Koreans want to come back to negotiations."
"They are going through a bad patch. The last two years have been a disaster. They are more and more of an isolated state. We're seeing an outreach — the leadership in Pyongyang is saying, 'We've got to change course, it's not working.'"
See more from AFP here.