3 Americans Have Been Released From North Korea, Trump Says

In a diplomatic victory for President Trump, North Korea freed three American prisoners on Wednesday, removing a bitterly emotional obstacle ahead of a planned meeting between him and the young leader of the nuclear-armed nation, reports 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.

Mr. Trump said the three were freed following an unannounced 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 Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump.

The prisoner release extended the turnabout from last year when the two leaders threatened each other with nuclear war. Mr. 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 good will.

But unlike those announcements, the release of the three Americans is permanent, and Mr. Kim forfeited a bargaining chip in freeing them. No other Americans are believed to be held 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.

Their release was said to be tied to Mr. Trump’s agreement to meet with Mr. Kim in the first face-to-face encounter between the top leaders of the two nations, during which Mr. Trump, 71, hopes to persuade Mr. Kim, 34, to abandon his nuclear weapons and the missiles that can carry them.

Anticipation of the release had been building since Mr. Pompeo secretly visited North Korea over the Easter weekend. He was still the C.I.A. director then, and held initial talks with Mr. Kim and other top North Korean officials about the planned summit meeting, which could happen in the next few months.

Mr. Trump teased the possibility they would be freed last week in a Twitter post, in which he also incorrectly asserted that President Barack Obama’s administration had unsuccessfully pressed for their release. Two of the three were seized after Mr. Trump took office.