MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) — Two United States citizens arrived at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington after spending months in the prisons of North Korea, CNN reported Sunday.
According to CNN, aircraft with the freed Americans, Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller onboard landed at about 9 p.m. local time (05:00 GMT). The Americans were released after Director of National Intelligence James Clapper went to Pyongyang to deliver a letter from US President Barack Obama to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kenneth Bae, 46, an American tour guide and Christian missionary of Korean origin had been held in prison for two years after he was detained on charges of plotting a religious insurrection in North Korea. He received a 15-year sentence.
Matthew Miller, 25 was arrested in April 2014 after he tore up his North Korean visa, expressing a wish to experience prison life to investigate the human rights situation in the country. Accused of espionage, he was sentenced to six years in a labor camp.
This followed the release of another US national, Jeffrey Fowle, who was freed and handed over to US officials on October 21 after spending more than five months in North Korean captivity. He was arrested in May after leaving a Bible in a sailor's club in the North Korean city of Chongjin.