One of Three Americans Held in North Korea Freed: White House

Washington: One of three Americans detained in North Korea has been released and is en route to the United States, the US government said Tuesday.

Jeffrey Fowle, who was arrested earlier this year, "has been allowed to depart the DPRK," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The 56-year-old "is on his way home," Earnest added. CNN reported that Fowle was in Guam after being flown out of Pyongyang.

US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf welcomed Fowle's release, which had been secured with the "tireless efforts" of Swedish diplomats at their embassy in Pyongyang.

Fowle was detained in April after apparently leaving a Bible in the bathroom of a nightclub in the northern port of Chongjin.

Advertisement

Many feared Fowle would share the same fate of his already tried and jailed fellow detainees Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller.

Miller, 24, was sentenced to six years' hard labor by the North Korean Supreme Court after he ripped up his visa at immigration and demanded asylum.

Advertisement

Bae, 42, was arrested in November 2012 and later sentenced to 15 years' hard labor.

Harf said the United States remained "focused on the continued detention of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller and again call on the DPRK to immediately release them."

Advertisement

"The US government will continue to work actively on their cases," she said in the statement.
Harf said Fowle was whisked out of Pyongyang on tranportation provided by the US Department of Defense.

Washington has condemned Pyongyang over the detentions, saying the detainees were being held as political hostages to extract diplomatic concessions.

Advertisement

The nuclear-armed North wants a resumption of stalled six-party negotiations, but the United States and South Korea insist it must first show a tangible commitment to denuclearisation.