President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that three Americans held captive in North Korea are coming home and that a date and place has been set for a meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
In a tweet, the president said the three men are coming home with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, having finalized the details for a meeting between Trump and Kim. Trump said the former detainees–Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song, and Kim Sang Dukz (also known as Tony Kim)–are with Pompeo safely in the air and appear to be in good health.
"Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting," Trump wrote. "They seem to be in good health."
He added that the group's plane will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland at 2:00 a.m.
"Secretary Pompeo and his 'guests' will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning," he wrote. "I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!"
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/994192995737096192
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/994194233111273472
Trump has recently hailed the progress on North Korea that has been made in recent months. Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month and agreed to a pending denuclearization agreement, which Trump said he hopes will bring an end to the conflict in Korea.
Moon has credited Trump for the meeting, saying he deserves the Noble Peace Prize.
The successful meeting with North Korean leaders comes just two weeks after Pompeo was confirmed to be secretary of state following the ouster of Rex Tillerson. It is also a relief after the death of Otto Warmbier last year, who was detained in North Korea in 2016 and died because of the horrific injuries sustained while in captivity. North Korea had released Warmbier while he was in a coma, and he died shortly after arriving back in the United States.