North Korea releases American man held since January

Former President Jimmy Carter secures release of Aijalon Gomes

APIn this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, a child salutes former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, center, upon his arrival at the airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday.

SEOUL, South Korea — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter flew out of North Korea on a private jet Friday after securing a special pardon for an American who had been jailed in the communist country since January.

Carter and Aijalon Gomes, 31, were expected to arrive in Boston later Friday to be reunited with Gomes’ mother and other family members, Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said in Atlanta late Thursday.

In Washington, the State Department welcomed the news of Gomes’ release.

We “are relieved that he will soon be safely reunited with his family,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. “We appreciate former President Carter’s humanitarian effort and welcome North Korea’s decision to grant Mr. Gomes special amnesty and allow him to return to the United States.”

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Carter and his party left Friday following a three-day trip that included an appeal for Gomes’ release and “open-hearted” discussions about North Korea’s nuclear program.

KCNA said Carter held cordial talks with North Korea’s No. 2 official, Kim Yong Nam, who relayed Pyongyang’s interest in resuming the six-nation disarmament talks and reiterated the regime’s commitment to denuclearization.

However, there was no indication that Carter met with Kim Jong Il, who was making a surprise trip to China during the rare visit by an American dignitary to the North Korean capital. A year ago, Kim sat down for talks and a well-publicized photo with former U.S. Preisdent Bill Clinton when he went to Pyongyang on a similar journey to negotiate the release of two American journalists.

The U.S. and North Korea fought on opposite sides of the 1950-53 Korean War and do not have diplomatic relations, but Carter is well-regarded in North Korea after making a groundbreaking trip to Pyongyang in 1994 to meet with Kim’s father, late President Kim Il Sung. Those friendly talks led to a landmark nuclear disarmament pact.

Aijalon Gomes (pronounced EYE-jah-lahn GOHMS) was the fourth American arrested in North Korea for illegal entry in a year when he was seized in January, accused of crossing into North Korea from China.

Besides journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, also sentenced to hard labor and released last August on a special pardon, activist Robert Park deliberately crossed into the country last Christmas and was expelled by North Korean authorities about 40 days later.

Gomes’ motive was not clear but he was said to be a close friend of Park and was photographed in Seoul rallying for Park’s release just two weeks before his own arrest in North Korea.

In April, North Korean authorities sentenced Gomes to eight years of hard labor and fined 70 million won — more than $600,000 — for trespassing and committing a “hostile act.” Gomes “admitted all the facts,” state-run media said.

Last month, North Korean media reported that Gomes tried to kill himself, “driven by his strong guilty conscience, disappointment and despair at the U.S. government that has not taken any measure for his freedom,” and was hospitalized.

A U.S. delegation, including a consular official, two doctors and a translator, made a secret visit to Pyongyang earlier this month to try to secure Gomes’ release. The group visited Gomes at the hospital but were unable to negotiate his release then, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said last week.

The Carter Center and U.S. official have emphasized that the ex-president trip was a private humanitarian mission.

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