Well this is fantastic news. It turns out that the report last night was true.
According to Trump, Pompeo has secured the release of 3 Americans held prisoner by N. Korea and is heading home with them.
Here’s NBC breaking the news:
#BREAKING: “Hugely significant morning here at the White House for President Trump.” US detainees released from North Korea. @kwelkernbc and @savannahguthrie report pic.twitter.com/hy1bwEalLm
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 9, 2018
Here are the tweets from Trump making the announcement:
I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018
The family of one of the men, Tony Kim, has released this grateful message:
Family of Tony Kim, an American released by North Korea: "We want to thank all of those who have worked toward and contributed to his return home. We also want to thank the President for engaging directly with North Korea."" https://t.co/hfX0BiHjuC pic.twitter.com/asiUcjjAH2
— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 9, 2018
This is pretty big news, not just for the release of these men, but for what it may mean about Kim Jong Un’s intentions with regard to denuclearization. I’m still skeptical, of course, about the whole thing, but it does sound like he might be serious about it.