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Carter Wins Freedom for US Man in North Korea

   John Featherly 26 August 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arriving in Pyongyang, North Korea.
   (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

   Former  U.S. President Jimmy Carter has won freedom for a U.S. citizen
   imprisoned in North Korea since January.
   A  spokeswoman  for  the  Carter  Center, Mr. Carter's headquarters in
   Atlanta,  Georgia,  says  the  former president has departed Pyongyang
   with Aijalon Mahli Gomes aboard a private jet.  Mr. Carter arrived in
   North Korea Wednesday on what the U.S. State Department described as a
   private mission.
   The  30-year-old  Gomes was detained in North Korea after entering the
   isolated  country  from  China.  He was sentenced to eight years hard
   labor and fined $700,000 for illegally crossing the border.

   The  native  of  Boston,  Massachusetts  was teaching English in South
   Korea.   His friends described him as a passionate Christian activist
   who was influenced by a fellow U.S. missionary, Robert Park.

   Park  entered  North Korea the month before Gomes crossed the border.Â
   He was arrested and expelled from the country two months later. Â
   Gomes is expected to arrive in Boston later Friday.

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