President Trump announced on Twitter Wednesday that three Americans being held in North Korea are “in the air” and returning to the United States with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“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,” the president wrote. “They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.”
Five minutes later he updated with news of their impending arrival.
“Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The White House said Trump “appreciates” Kim’s releasing the American citizens and “views this as a positive gesture of goodwill.”
“The three Americans appear to be in good condition and were all able to walk on the plane without assistance,” the White House said in a statement. “All Americans look forward to welcoming them home and to seeing them reunited with their loved ones.”
Kim Sang Dok has been held by the regime since April 2017 after he was picked up at the Pyongyang Airport as he was preparing to leave the country for committing “hostile criminal acts.”
Kim Dong Chul, a South Korean business and naturalized American citizen, has been detained since October 2015 on espionage charges.
And Kim Hak Song has been in North Korea custody since May 2017 also for “hostile acts.”
Trump disclosed Pompeo was in North Korea to meet with leader Kim Jong-un during a national address from the White House on Tuesday after he declared he was pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Earlier, Pompeo told officials in Pyonyang that the US is committed to working to achieve peace and denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
“For decades, we have been adversaries. Now we are hopeful that we can work together to resolve this conflict, take away threats to the world and make your country have all the opportunities your people so richly deserve,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo also traveled to North Korea last month before he was sworn in as secretary of state to begin working out the details of Trump’s meeting with Kim.
