The 28-year-old missionary’s detainment came nearly four months after two other Americans, journalists Euna Park and Laura Ling, were released with Bill Clinton’s help after they were arrested at the border and sentenced to prison.
Late last month, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency reported the arrest of another American suspected of illegal entry. He has not been identified.
State media in Pyongyang said that North Korea “decided to leniently forgive and release’’ Park after “taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings into consideration.’’
No further details about Park’s release were available but his family in California said they were thrilled by the prospect.
“We are very excited but I don’t know if it’s real or not. We have to wait and see if it’s really happening,’’ his father, Pyong Park, said from his home in Carlsbad, Calif.
He said he has not received confirmation from Sweden’s ambassador to North Korea. The United States, which fought against North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, does not have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and relies on the Swedish Embassy to serve as its representative.
The State Department in Washington said it had no comment.
News of Park’s pending release comes amid a push by Pyongyang to reach out to Washington and Seoul after more than a year of tensions.
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