Trump hints of imminent news on Americans detained in DPRK

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The White House said on Thursday it would welcome the release of three Americans imprisoned in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a goodwill gesture before a planned summit between US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, but that it could not confirm reports that they are about to be freed.

Expectations have grown that the DPRK would soon release the three ahead of the unprecedented summit in the coming weeks.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's new main lawyer, told Fox News that Pyongyang would release them as early as Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether Giuliani had direct knowledge of negotiations around the issue.

CNN, citing an unnamed source, said on Thursday the prisoners' release was imminent, adding the groundwork for the move was laid two months ago when DPRK's foreign minister traveled to Sweden and proposed the idea.

"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 goodwill if North Korea (DPRK) were to release the three Americans ahead of discussions between President Trump and Kim Jong Un," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

Trump hinted Wednesday that there would be imminent news about three Americans detained in the DPRK, after reports said the detainees have been relocated from a labor camp to a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang.

The news came ahead of a planned summit between Trump and Kim. The summit is expected to take place in late May or early June.

"As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean (DPRK) Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!" Trump said in a Twitter post late on Wednesday.

Twitter screenshot

The US has been demanding the DPRK free Kim Hak-song, Kim Sang-duk (also known as Tony Kim) and Kim Dong-chul. Reports have said the two sides were close to reaching a deal on their release.

The three US citizens were moved in early April following instructions from superior authorities, reported Yonhap citing a Republic of Korea (ROK) activist. They have been accused of espionage or "hostile acts."

The US government is looking into the reports of the relocation, a US official said on Wednesday.

April 29, 2016: US citizen Kim Dong-chul enters a courtroom in Pyongyang. /VCG Photo

"They are staying in a hotel on the outskirts of Pyongyang," Choi Sung-ryong, an ROK activist with contacts in the DPRK said earlier, adding the three were being kept separately but "going on tours, receiving medical treatment and eating good food."

The release of the three men was discussed when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang last month, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Kim Dong-chul, an ROK-born American pastor, has been detained in the DPRK since 2015 when he was arrested for spying. He was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in 2016.

Kim Sang-duk spent a month teaching at the foreign-funded Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) before he was arrested in 2017; and Kim Hak-song, who also taught at PUST, was detained in 2017.

(Top image: Tony Kim, one of the three Americans detained in the DPRK. /Reuters Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters