Three detained US citizens freed by North Korea on Wednesday are en route to the US, where President Donald Trump and Vice President, Mike Pence, are due to welcome them home.
The flight carrying Kim Hak-Song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-Chul is scheduled to land at 2.00 a.m (0600 GMT) on Thursday at a military base outside Washington.
“I’ll be there to greet them,” Trump said at the White House. Mike will be with me.
He added: “The reception will be a very special time … because nobody thought this was going to happen.”
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said the three Americans had received a quick medical examination and their health “is as good as could be, given what they’ve been through”.
They were prepared to transfer to another plane better equipped to handle medical needs during a stopover in Japan, Pompeo said.
Pompeo flew on Tuesday to Pyongyang to finalise the day, venue and other details of a highly-anticipated summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
Trump said final details about the meeting would be announced within three days.
He also said the meeting won’t take place at the demilitarised zone between North Korea and South Korea.
He previously said the DMZ was appealing due to its symbolism, especially if the talks proved successful.
Trump said he was optimistic about the talks with North Korea.
“I think we have a really good shot at making it successful. But lots of things can happen,” he said, including the meeting being “scuttled.”
He also praised Jong-Un for the release of the three Americans.
Trump said: “I appreciate Kim Jong-Un for doing this.”
Ahead of his arrival in the North Korean capital, Pompeo said he hoped the visit – which followed his secret trip to Pyongyang around April 1 – would “put in place a framework for a successful summit between the two presidents”.
Pompeo’s latest visit had prompted speculation about the release of the Americans, who had reportedly been moved in April from a labour camp to a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
It also brought back memories of the release in 2017 of US student Otto Warmbier following his detention, conviction and sentencing to 15 years of hard labour for crimes against the state.
Warmbier was sent back to the US in June in a coma and died days later.
The Warmbier case heightened tensions between Trump and North Korea, as the US was tightening sanctions amid a series of nuclear tests and missile launches by Pyongyang.
His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit in April against the country.
Trump also was asked about news reports quoting people, who say he deserves the Nobel Prize for his efforts in resolving tensions with North Korea.
“The prize I want is victory for the world,” he responded. “That’s the only prize I want”.
Trending
- Traditional ruler shot dead inside palace
- Primate Ayodele to Yoruba Nation agitators: You can’t break Nigeria
- Police intercept bags of Indian Hemp at Lagos jetty
- Enugu, families to give Ibu, Junior Pope befitting burial
- Police arrest suspects for attempting to disrupt inauguration of commissioners
- Police rescue three children locked up by grandmother + Photo
- Police foil attack in Katsina, neutralise suspected bandit
- US vetoes Palestine’s request for full UN membership