Jeffrey Fowle, American freed from detention in North Korea, has joyful family reunion
Jeffrey Fowle, detained after leaving a Bible in nightclub, hugs wife and children at US air base following his surprise release a day earlier
An American detained for nearly half a year in North Korea returned to an emotional homecoming yesterday amid tears of joy and hugs from his wife and surprised children.
A plane carrying Jeffrey Fowle landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the state of Ohio, where he was greeted by his family.
Base Colonel John Devillier said Fowle had a tearful reunion with his three children, wife and other relatives. He said Fowle was happy and seemed thrilled to be back in the US.
Devillier said Fowle's family hadn't told the children why they were being brought to the base and that it was a surprise for them to see their father walk off the plane.
The State Department announced on Tuesday that the 56-year-old had been released. He was taken into custody after leaving a Bible at a nightclub. Christian evangelism is considered a crime in North Korea.
Fowle had been awaiting trial - the only one of three Americans held by Pyongyang who had not been convicted of charges. The two others were each sentenced to years in prison after court trials that lasted no more than 90 minutes. The three Americans entered North Korea separately.
