The release of three Americans in North Korea appears imminent
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said she could not confirm details, but said Washington was ‘cautiously optimistic’ about talks with Pyongyang
The White House said on Thursday it would welcome the release of three Americans imprisoned in North Korea as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but that it could not confirm reports that the three are about to be freed.
Expectations have grown that North Korea would soon release them ahead of the unprecedented summit meeting in the coming weeks. Rudy Giuliani, a member of Trump’s legal team, told Fox News that Pyongyang would release them as early as Thursday.
It was not immediately clear whether Giuliani had direct knowledge of negotiations about the issue, but CNN, citing an unnamed source, said on Thursday the prisoners’ release was imminent.
“We can’t confirm the validity of any of the reports currently out about their release, but we certainly would see this as a sign of good will if North Korea were to release the three Americans ahead of discussions between President Trump and Kim Jong-un,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.
The three are Korean-American missionary Kim Dong-chul; Kim Sang-duk, who spent a month teaching at the foreign-financed Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) before he was arrested in 2017; and Kim Hak-song, who also taught at PUST.