North Korea releases American detainees Kenneth Bae, Matthew Miller
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Kenneth Bae's sister: Family had been crying for joy, spreading the good news
Kenneth Bae had been detained since 2012, Matthew Miller since last April
Source: North Korea contacted U.S. out of the blue, asked for a top U.S. official
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper traveled to Pyongyang
(CNN) -- Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller have been allowed to leave North Korea "and are on their way home," the U.S. government announced Saturday, leaving no more Americans detained in the reclusive East Asian nation.
The pair were released after a rare, last-second trip by a top American official -- U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper -- to Pyongyang as an envoy of President Barack Obama, a senior State Department official told CNN.
This came after North Korea contacted the U.S. government out of the blue and urged the administration to send a Cabinet-level official to North Korea's capital to discuss the detained Americans, according to two sources close to the matter.
Clapper ended up canceling an event in New York on Wednesday as the trip was being arranged, an Obama administration official said. He went to Pyongyang "prepared to listen" on other issues, but that his sole focus was to bring Bae and Miller home, according to the same official.
In fact, an official in Clapper's office said the talks didn't even touch on North Korea's controversial nuclear program. And other U.S. officials said there was no "quid pro quo" for the men's release.
Kenneth Bae is one of two American detainees released from North Korea this week. Bae had been held since late 2012, and in April 2013 was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for unspecified "hostile acts" against the North Korean government. North Korea claimed Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime. In a short interview with CNN on September 1, Bae said he was working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp. "Right now what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me," he said.
Matthew Todd Miller also was allowed to leave North Korea this week. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, he was convicted in September of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor. He traveled to North Korea this year after arranging a private tour through the U.S.-based company Uri Tours, which takes tourists into North Korea. Miller told CNN's Will Ripley that he "prepared to violate the law of DPRK before coming here. And I deliberately committed my crime."
Stacey Addison was detained on drug charges by police in East Timor in September during a taxi ride. Addison says she was sharing a taxi from near the Indonesian border to Dili, the capital of East Timor, when another passenger asked to stop and pick up a package at a DHL office. The package allegedly contained methamphetamine.
Washington Post Tehran Bureau Chief Jason Rezaian remains behind bars after being detained in Iran with his wife, Iranian journalist Yeganeh Salehi, in July under unclear circumstances. Salehi was released on bail in late October, according to The Post.
Jeffrey Edward Fowle was released from North Korea and returned home Wednesday, October 22, 2014. Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible in a restaurant. North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." Fowle told CNN: "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK."
American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers on August 24 after nearly two years in captivity. He is believed to have been captured in October 2012 and held by the al-Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda.
Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has been in Cuban custody since December 2009, when he was jailed while working as a subcontractor. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf, but they were unable to secure his release.
An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA.
This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31. Bergdahl was released in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military.
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN in January that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority.
Warren Weinstein, a contractor held by al Qaeda militants, is a U.S. citizen who has been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011.
U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport on December 7 after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained in October 2013 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman said the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency.
Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released a few days later and is now back in the United States.
Saeed Abedini, a 33-year-old U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013. He was accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches.
North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her right, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton.
Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner.
Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month after he was detained in April 2011. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.
Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010 without any apparent U.S. intervention. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul.
Josh Fattal, center, Sarah Shourd, left, and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted.
Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was detained at Iran's Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security.
Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial.
Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April 2013 on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. He was released in June 2013.
In a statement Saturday, Clapper's office said the U.S. government is facilitating the two men's return home, though it was not immediately clear when they would arrive back in the United States.
While there was no immediate reaction from Miller's family, Bae's sister Terri Chung told CNN that her family spent Saturday morning doing a lot of crying for joy and spreading the good news among relatives and friends.
Obama himself expressed appreciation for Clapper's efforts "on what was obviously a challenging mission" and happiness Bae and Miller will soon be home.
"It's a wonderful day for them and their families," the President said.
Another American let go weeks earlier
The Americans' departure from North Korea comes less than a month after North Korea released Jeffrey Fowle, an Ohio man who spent five months in detention. North Korean authorities took Fowle into custody after he left a Bible at a club in the northern part of the country.
Bae had been held since late 2012, and in April 2013 was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the North Korean government. North Korea claimed that Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime.
The Lynwood, Washington, resident operated a China-based company specializing in tours of North Korea, according to family members, who have described him as a devout Christian.
'He's not a spy,' Bae's sister says after conviction
Earlier this year, Bae -- who was transferred to a hospital last year -- told a Swedish diplomat that he was worried about his health.
Miller had been detained since April. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, he was convicted in September of committing "acts hostile" to North Korea and sentenced to six years of hard labor. He's been accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry into North Korea.
American Miller convicted, sentenced
In September, all three Americans then detained in North Korea -- Bae, Fowle and Miller -- talked with CNN in Pyongyang for about five minutes apiece.
All said they'd signed statements admitting their guilt, did not complain about their living conditions and asked for U.S. help.
Americans detained in North Korea talk to CNN
The interviews -- which CNN learned about only after being shuttled on a van to a secret location -- were monitored and recorded by North Korean officials.
Talking Saturday, Fowle said that he'd been "upset" when he learned his fellow American detainees weren't going home with him last month.
"Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller should have been released before I was," Fowle told CNN. "But I'm glad to hear that they're on their way home now."
Ex-diplomat: North Korea may want to thaw U.S. relations
CNN could not independently confirm details of the three Americans' detention or other facts about their cases, in part because of the secrecy that defines much of North Korea's dealings with the world.
That includes the Communist nation's much-maligned quest to develop nuclear weapons, something that has put it at odds with the United States, South Korea and many other countries around the world. North Korea has been subject to stringent international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear aspirations.
The State Department official said that Bae and Miller's release is "unrelated" to other U.S. issues involving North Korea.
Who is Kenneth Bae?
The United States welcomes the move, but if North Korea wants a better relationship with the world it needs to "show it is serious and prepared to abide by its commitments, particularly concerning denuclearization," the official said. "And they must take significant steps to improve their human rights record."
Yet Gordon Chang, the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World," opines something must have changed in Pyongyang's philosophy to justify releasing three American detainees in less than a month.
"I think right now there is a charm offensive," Chang told CNN.
Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who tried to win Bae's release during a 2013 visit to North Korea, echoed that view, saying, "They are sending a message to the United States that 'we're ready to talk.'"
He added that no decision this big would have been made without the OK of Kim Jong Un, who took over as North Korea's absolute leader following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, in 2011.
"It appears that it is a good move by the North Koreans to restart the North Korean-American relationship, which has been in a really deep freeze," said Richardson.
By Greg Botelho, CNN
November 8, 2014 -- Updated 1822 GMT (0222 HKT)
北朝鮮 拘束のアメリカ人２人解放11月9日 4時12分 アメリカ政府は、北朝鮮に拘束されていたアメリカ人２人が解放されたと発表し、北朝鮮がアメリカとの正常化に向けた直接対話の糸口にしたい思惑があるとみて、その意図を分析するとともに、今後の出方を注視しています。
アメリカ国務省のサキ報道官は８日、声明を発表し、北朝鮮がこれまで拘束してきたペ・ジュノ氏とマシュー・ミラー氏の２人を解放したと明らかにするとともに、これを歓迎するとしています。そして、２人の解放を求める交渉の中で、クラッパー国家情報長官とピョンヤンのスウェーデン大使館が大きな役割を果たしたとして、感謝の意を示しました。アメリカ政府によりますと、２人はすでに北朝鮮を離れ、帰国の途についており、クラッパー長官が同行しているということです。
北朝鮮は、ペ氏については「敵対行為をした」としておととし１１月に拘束し、ミラー氏についても「法秩序を乱した」としてことし４月に拘束しました。２人ともその後、強制労働を科す「労働教化」の判決を受けました。北朝鮮は先月、別のアメリカ人男性ジェフリー・ファウル氏を解放しており、これで拘束していた３人のアメリカ人全員を解放したことになります。
アメリカ政府は、北朝鮮が３人を解放したのはアメリカとの正常化に向けた直接対話の糸口にしたい思惑があるとみており、その意図を分析するとともに、今後の出方を注視しています。２人の解放について、オバマ大統領は８日、記者団の質問に、「すばらしい日だ。無事に帰国することをとてもうれしく思う」と述べました。
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