Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will return from North Korea with three U.S. citizens currently imprisoned in the country, according to a South Korean official and the U.S. President, CBS News reports.
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. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
The Secretary of State arrived in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Wednesday to discuss details of the summit between leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump.
Trump earlier broke the news of Pompeo’s second visit to North Korea in less than six weeks to discuss the scrapping of the hardline communist country’s nuke program.
Pompeo was expected to finalise the date of the summit, and secure the release of three American detainees.
On the way he told reporter he hoped Korea would “do the right thing” regarding the release of three detainees.
“Plans are being made. Relationships are building,” Trump said at the White House. “Hopefully, a deal will happen and, with the help of China, South Korea, and Japan, a future of great prosperity and security can be achieved for everyone.”
Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul and Pyongyang University of Science and Technology lecturers Kim Sang-duk, also known as Tony Kim, and Kim Hak-song are being held there.
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Two of the men were taken captive last year, while Kim Dong Chul has been imprisoned since 2015.
This is a far cry from the release of Iranian prisoners negotiated by Barack Obama. He gave the Iranians $1.7 billion in cash and gold in the dead of night, lied about it, and allowed them to call the shots. It was flown on a plane by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and landed in Iran before the prisoners were let go. Within weeks, Iran captured and held an Iranian-American businessman. They have other prisoners.
In January 2016, they captured and humiliated U.S. sailors who may or may not have crossed over into Iranian seas.
