North Korea releases prisoners

North Korea has released two US citizens, the US government announced on Saturday, just hours before US President Barack Obama was to leave on a trip to Asia, where he is expected to discuss North Korea's nuclear program with Chinese President Xi Jinping. White House officials said the release of the prisoners was not related to the trip.

"I think it is a wonderful day for them and their families and obviously we are very grateful for their safe return," Obama said on Saturday.

Kenneth Bae (above left) and Matthew Miller (right) were being accompanied by James Clapper, the US director of national intelligence, on their way home. According to the Associated Press news agency, Clapper is the highest ranking US official to have visited North Korea while in office.

"We are grateful to Director of National Intelligence Clapper, who engaged on behalf of the United States in discussions with DPRK authorities about the release of two citizens," the US State Department announced in a statement, using an initialism for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We also want to thank our international partners, especially our protecting power, the government of Sweden, for their tireless efforts to help secure the freedom of Mr. Bae and Mr. Miller," the statement added. Sweden serves as a diplomatic intermediary between the US and North Korea, which have no direct relations.

Son: 'Awesome'

Bae's son Jonathan told the news agency Reuters: "I'm very thankful. It's awesome. I couldn't be happier. Finally it's over and he's coming home."

Jonathan Bae said he had been able to speak to his father on the telephone on Friday night and that he had "sounded good. I'm sure he will be back to his old self in no time," he added.

On Monday, Bae's family had marked the second anniversary of his detention and called on renewed efforts from Washington and for mercy from North Korea.

Press interview from prison

On September 1, CNN and the Associated Press were permitted to speak to the US inmates. Bae, a missionary from the state of Washington in his mid-40s, had been sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment at a labor camp for "crimes against the state." The regime had described him as a militant Christian evangelist before his sentencing.

In the CNN interview, he said that he was in poor health and that he worked eight hours per day at a labor camp outside of Pyongyang.

"The only hope that I have is to have someone from the US come," he said. "But, so far, the latest I've heard is that there has been no response yet. So I believe that officials here are waiting for that."

Bae was said to be suffering from health problems including diabetes and an enlarged heart.

Miller, a 24-year-old from California, was arrested in April this year and sentenced to six years of hard labor on charges of espionage. He is said to have ripped up his tourist visa upon arrival in North Korea and demanded asylum in the nominally communist nation.

Two weeks ago, North Korea released the detained US citizen Jeffrey Fowle. He had been arrested in Chongjin in May after having left a Bible in a guesthouse, according to North Korean reports. His family denied allegations that he had been traveling on a church mission with the aim of converting North Koreans to Christianity.

sb/mkg (Reuters, AP, AFP)