Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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             Americans Freed by North Korea Arrive in United States

   by VOA News

   Two Americans freed by North Korea arrived home in the United States
   Saturday night.

   A plane carrying Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller landed at Joint
   Base Lewis-McChord in the Pacific Coast state of Washington.

   The two were in the company of U.S. National Intelligence Director
   James Clapper, who worked to gain their freedom.

   After stepping off the plane, Bae was met by his family, including his
   mother, Myunghee Bae.  She told VOA's Korean service earlier in the day
   that she waited so long for the news, she could not believe it when the
   State Department contacted her Saturday.

   Bae had been in detention since 2012 on a conviction of anti-government
   activities while leading a group of tourists.

   Miller was also greeted by his family.  He had been in prison since
   April for tearing up his tourist visa in the Pyongyang airport and
   demanding asylum.

   The exact circumstances of the Americans' release or with whom Clapper
   met are not clear.

   President Barack Obama said the United States is "very grateful for
   their safe return." He said he appreciates Clapper doing a great job on
   what he described as an obviously challenging mission.

   Secretary of State John Kerry called their release a "humanitarian
   gesture" and said U.S. officials had been working all the angles to
   bring Bae and Miller home.

   In New York, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said
   Ban is relieved the two Americans are free and hopes positive momentum
   for peace and security on the Korean peninsula will be built on.

   The State Department also thanked Sweden, which represents U.S.
   interests in North Korea, and repeated its warning to U.S. citizens not
   to travel to the North.

   Bae, 46, of Lynnwood, Washington, had been in detention since 2012 for
   alleged anti-government activities while leading a group of tourists.

   Later, Pyongyang sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor for committing
   "hostile acts" against the regime, making him the longest-held American
   in North Korea in recent years. The Korean-American missionary's
   reported health problems only added to concerns about his captivity.

   His family this week appealed again to the North Korean regime to
   release him. Relatives released a video clip on the website [1]YouTube
   wishing for Bae's swift return home.

   ''Miller, of Bakersfield, California, had been charged with espionage
   and detained since April. He was taken into custody after tearing up
   his tourist passport at the Pyongyang airport. He was 24 at the time.

   In September, he was tried for "hostile acts" and sentenced to six
   years of hard labor.

   They were freed less than three weeks after the unexpected release of
   another U.S. prisoner in North Korea, Jeffrey Fowle.

   Fowle was jailed for leaving a Bible in a nightclub.

   ''
     __________________________________________________________________

   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-frees-2-american-detainee
   s/2513117.html

References

   1. http://youtu.be/HBT1l2SgTxQ
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/north-korea-frees-2-american-detainees/2513117.html