Jimmy Carter secures release of US national from North Korea

Calcutta News.Net
Saturday 28th August, 2010

Former US President Jimmy Carter has returned from North Korea victorious after setting out to secure the release of an American national arrested for entering the country illegally.

Aijalon Mahli Gomes entered the isolated country illegally in January and was subsequently sentenced to eight years hard labor, the US government has been trying to secure his release since then.

He was also sentenced to pay a fine of $600,000 and accused of a “hostile act”, though the exact nature of the second charge was never revealed.

North Korean officials met with the former US president and granted Gomes amnesty, he flew out of the country with Jimmy Carter on Friday, according to the Carter Center in Atlanta.

The family released a statement Friday saying they were extremely happy and grateful to all parties involved in the release of Gomes.

The US State Department also released a statement Friday.

“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,” said a spokesperson for the department.

“The U.S. and North Korea do not have diplomatic relations and as the case of Mr. Gomes illustrates, travel to North Korea is not routine or risk-free,” the spokesperson added.

Two US journalists were arrested in 2009 for illegally entering the country, but a US national, Jonathan Lee, who recently travelled to the country to discuss a humanitarian project with government officials was not detained after securing legal entry.

Thirteen-year-old Lee had travelled to North Korea to discuss the establishment of a peace park in the De-militarized Zone and met with North Korean officials before heading home. He is one of the youngest Americans to have travelled to the country.

In addition to the release of Gomes, Former President Carter, who has a history of good relations with North Korea, also secured an assurance from North Korea that the country would like to rejoin the Six Party nuclear talks, aimed at preventing the further proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Carter’s trip to North Korea was not sanctioned by the US government and was not on their behalf.

The US has been accused at home of doing too little to push for the release of US nationals arrested for illegally entering North Korea.

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