he apparently carried a letter from president obama to north korean leader kim jong un. less than a month ago north korea released american jeffrey fowle. he had spent five months in detention. there are now no other u.s. citizens detained in north korea. north korea issued a statement about the two americans saying in part, "president obama made repeated requests and an earnest apology and assured a guarantee there would be no recurrence of similar incidents." north korea has alleged that kenneth bae was there to proselytize for his religion and that matthew todd miller upon arrival tore up his visa and asked for asylum. we don't know the real story on that, but certainly we will get it as they arrive back. washington has not confirmed anything about what was in that letter or how this evolved. but this is a developing story that we are covering on many fronts as this airplane taxis with these two men on board who must be very relieved that they have been released from north korea. and we'll be talking with friends of kenneth bae's family, our correspondents in south kor

in fact, i think north korean behavior is quite predictable. y, there have been many tourists going to north korea over the past few months, and none of them have been taken hostage. so i think we need to understand that at least from the north korean perspective, and i'm not excusing what they do, these americans violated their laws and they prosecuted them. so it's not a question of trumping up charges, i don't think. i think from their perspective, these people have violated their laws and there are hundreds of other tourists who haven't, who have been going to north korea in the meantime. >> and that is, like you said, their perspective. it will be interesting to hear what these newly released americans have to say about that. thank you so much for coming on and talking with us. >> thank you very much. >>> we'll be right back. but first, the list of the top ten cnn heroes is out and it's leading up to the all-star tribute with anderson cooper on december 7th. meet cnn here roe arthur blue. >> music is my earliest memory. i never decided to b

north korean officials are well aware that japan would never accept such results. so it's quite natural to think that they would take another totally different approach this time. we do not know at this moment if this approach will bring a different outcome from the past reports. >> reporter: the framework for the talks on the abduction issue was agreed on in stockholm in may. the agreement states that investigations into the four issues surrounding missing and abducted japanese are carried out simultaneously. both countries carried out part of the agreement in july. north korea set up a special investigation committee which had the power to probe any organization in the country. japan responded by lifting three sanctions on north korea, including restrictions on travel, money transfers, and port calls by ships. izumi says both countries agreed to cooperate on seven give-and-take steps. as one side completes a step, the other side will reciprocate. >> translator: the officials in pyongyang must now be thinking that they showed they are moving forward, providing upd

>> yeah, well, in the past the north koreans have been pretty canny negotiators they usually ask for d pro quo which the northwest wants something out of north korea. if i was the north koreans i would be asking for three things, one, some kind of relief on the sanctions since north korea has engaged in the nuclear tests and missile tests the sanctions have gotten tighter i would ask for relief on the banking industry, the north koreans keep a lot of money offshore and places like hong kong and it's made it harder and harder for the north korean elite to import luxury goods if i were the north koreans i would be pushing for that. america probably didn't give any formal but maybe they are looking away. it's hard to believe they gave them away for nothing. unless they are looking for a major breakthrough with the americans we don't know that they haven't said anything to that effect yet. >> what about this human rights report that the united states wants to refer north korea to the i.c.c. how much could have that weighed in the north korean's decision to release the men? >> yeah, that's

releasing a statement urging the north korean government to release if two americans. ime ago, as well, calling for the release, saying i'm pleased that north korea did the right thing in releasing kenneth bae. the state department also weighed in a short time after that news became official. let's get to that tweet, guys. the state department says, welcomes the release of u.s. citizens, kenneth bae and matthew todd miller, from the dprk. that's the tweet from the state department. so many played a role in this. and the washington lawmakers that are taking to twitter on their social media pages, to congratulate the efforts to get these two americans back home. we understand they're on their way back home. we heard from representative, so happy for kenneth bae and his family, who waited two, long years for this day to come. welcome home. you watching at home or listening, you can tweet poppy. or myself at cnnvalencia. and we'll try to get your tweets and comments on the air. >> it's good to hear they're coming home. thanks, nick. appreciate it. >> you bet it. >>> coming

until a few hours ago, they were the only americans still being detained by the north korean governmentller was charged with committing hostile acts against north korea earlier this year. bae faced those same charges two years ago. and he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. one man has negotiated with north korea since the 1990s to help free americans. i'm talking about former new mexico governor, bill richardson, who also served as u.s. ambassador to the united nations. he went to north korea just last year to try to get kenneth bae released. five years ago, considered a potential envoy for the release of two americans. that role ultimately went to former president bill clinton. governor richardson joins me on the phone. thank you so much for being here, sir. and i want you to first please, if you could, take us into the mind of negotiators since you worked with north korean negotiators why do you think they decided to release these two americans right now? >> i believe there was two reasons. one, they were catching the north koreans a lot of heat at the united nations on human ri

missions. >> japan's government believes at least 17 of its people were abducted by north korean agents in the 1970s and 80s. five were return in 2002. previously, pyongyang said eight abductees had dired the north. japan's chief cabinet secretary told reporters the new committee had not yet provided any specific information about the abductees' fates. in the talks the delegation sphresed then -- stressed the point that the japanese government considers the abduction issue to be its top priority. it sees pyongyangpyongyang's pra half step forward. the government hopes to receive at least an initial report by the end of the year. >>> despite the perception gap over the abduction issue, north korea does appear to want to detoxify its dealing with japan. it may hope such a change will open the way to economic assistance and normalized relations. at the same time, it's backing away from its long time benefactor. nhk world reports on the growing distance between the north and china. >> dandong is a major trade for north korea. it sits right next to the border. in october>> translator: we're

an effort is now underway through the international criminal court to charge senior north korean officialsh crimes. more immediately, the world's leaders including president obama are now gathered in china. north korea's neighbor and sole ally. with a growing consensus that north korea and its nuclear program must be dealt with firmly. >> it's going to take a broader understanding on the part of the north koreans that all the countries in the region consider this to be their number one security priority, making sure that we do not have a nuclearized korean peninsula. >> reporter: north korea's leader is under pressure at home at well, followed a month-long disappearance as a result of an operation on his foot. >> north korea's always looking for something. they used that something for their domestic audience to show that kim jong-un and north korea itself is such an important player. >> now, receiving america's top spy would certainly give north korean leaders face, that is, respectability. but for the u.s. dispatching the man who oversees the 16 intelligence agencies, many of which keep a

president barack obama to the north korean leader. there were no diplomatic ties between the two countries and yet this was really the most significant if not indirect contact the two leaders have had with each other. i think at this point it's just significant that this has even happened. and of course beyond that there were many officials who believe the six-party talks would be the forum for talking about denuclearization. >> and i'm just wondering, paula, because you've been following this closely, we did not hear from matthew todd miller after he arrived in the u.s. is there anything more kind of about the mystery of why he was detained and what he did when he arrived there? >> well, all the information we have at this point is from north korean state media. so of course we have to bear that in mind when we consider what we know, what we think we know. they effectively said that miller walked into the country, that he tore up his visa and claimed asylum and during the court case according to state-run media they say he was trying

security council could soon refer kim and other north korean official to his the international court human rights try solutions, neither bay nor miller will be prosecuted for travel to go north korea. but the obama administration is warning other americans it's not a good idea to visit. >>> robert kelly is professor of political science and diplomacy the in south korea. he says that this time the north korean prisoner release is different. >> in the past the north koreans have milked these arrests of americans for a big high-profile visit frit a former president or high upp up official. this is different. when a north korean stand next to a president they tell north korean people that they are a real country and the americans take it serious will you, obviously president obama can't go, on staff, other people thought hillary clinton might go. director clapper went that's odd. he's an intelligent official. we are not sure what it means, it will fuel a speculation that there was ideal or something going on the in the background. >>> your honor air strikes hit a gathering of fighters fro

it's rare for the north koreans to do this, and we wanted to find outside more about the section. we sent simon mcgregor-wood to take a look. >> north korea's london embassy is far from the exclusive diplomatic quarter, and unusually on tuesday its door was open. for four days members of the public and journalists can see an exhibition of north korean art. handpicked by the state-run art studio and under close service station, the artist spent weeks painting london's scenes to show alongside traditional scenes from home. >> the artists have paintings that are there own from pyongyang. and i think you will see similarities in the brush strokes, and in the way that they are pointed. it's a different -- painted. it's a different scene. >> these are the artists painting portraits of the leaders, and who claimed the art for the parade. there's not much room here for freedom of expression. embassy officials hope the event will build better understanding between the british and the north koreans. the sad reality is not many members of the public have turned up, and north korea's embassy i

because north koreans have demonized them for various reasons. so, therefore, they're just not going to be able to pull the levers of power that they once did. if anyone had any influence on this, it was the united states, perhaps south korea, and certainly the swedes. we talked to the north koreans at least formally through the swedish embassy in pyongyang. >> do you think that, real quickly, do you think that kim was still the sole string puller in this whole negotiation? >> no, i don't think so. i think that there has been shifting responsibilities in power. we've seen too many executions and unexplained deaths to think that he is consolidated his power. that's a real side of instability. >> all right. gordon chang, we appreciate your insight. thank you for being with us today. >>> in other news, u.s. troops in iraq trying to kill isis leaders, some of the top ones. we'll see if the mission was successful and we'll also talk to our military analyst about the strategy. >>> and like it or not, the cold is coming, folks. look at some of these pic

-north korean relations. sooner we got rid of this, given the fact that the president only has two years left in his term, the better for both sides. i believe that we were able to reach an understanding with respect to a lower bar -- lowering of the bar for the release of these three individuals. >> were you as surprised as most of us that these three americans, one a couple weeks ago, now two more where are released as quickly as they were following your visit there? >> no, i expected this would take place before the end of the year. i was surprised how quickly it evolved since my visit. i should point out, i don't want to take credit for being the primary driver of this. i know that many others notably the state department itself, has been talking about the need for their release for many months and years. but it came as something of a surprise, but i did expect that it would happen before the end of the year, as i explained to a number of people on my return. >> i remember. you said that to me, and the ti

kenneth bae, a christian missionary, had been convicted for trying to convert north koreans. miller was gaoled for disturbing the peace. neither will be prosecuted for travelling to north korea. the obama administration is warning other americans it's not a good idea to visit >>> u.n. secretary of state john kerry ban ki-moon was among leaders -- u.n. screcial ban ki-moon was among those expresses delight:. >> a. >> what does this many for the two countries. joining us is katherine moonfrom brookings institute. great to have you with us. >> thank you. >> what do you make of the latest olive branch. does it offer hope of progress between pyongyang and washington? >> i think it does offer some hope, but again, with north korea, we have to watch for consistent substantive action, and so what is interesting is that in the last six months, north korea has shown in chooump, japan, europe, japan, south korea. that jeffrey fowl, and the two gentlemen released today, this is consistent in terms of substantive actions. if they continue this way, there's hope for some creative and engage

it's a rare occasion for the north koreans to open their doors, and we wanted to find out a little more about the exhibition. we sent simon mcgregor-wood to take a look. >> reporter: north korea's london embassy is far from the exclusive diplomatic quarter. unusually on tuesday the doors were open. for four days, members of the public and journalists can see an exhibition of north korean art, handpicked by the state-run art studio and under close supervision. the artist spent weeks painting london scenes to show alongside the screens from home. >> the artists have paintings that are their own from pyongyang. you'll see similarities in the brush strokes and the way they are painted. it's a different screen. >> back home, these are the artists that paint portraits of the supreme leaders and create the art for the parades. there's not much room here for freedom of expression. embassy officials hope that the unique cultural event will build better understanding between the british and north koreans. the sad reality is not many members of the public turned up, and north korea's embassy is a

insight into british life but by a north korean hand, and that is not all. this extraordinary exhibition is being held inside the north korean ray emery in london, been done.ever >> when people come through the door, they will leave preconceptions, prejudices and politics at the door and engage in this unique opportunity to see for themselves the art and meet the artists. >> the artists themselves also paint a very different perspective of their country. one view internationally as one of the most reoppressive in the world. >> i'm very happy the british people have given me this kind of freedom. but even when i am in korea, i get exactly the same freedom that british have given me. artist in north korea are allowed to draw any paints they want to because they give total freedom to artists. >> it is undoubtedly an attempt to create a better understanding between the two nations and forge a friendship which can break down barriers. "bbc news." >> i think that is a very odd exhibition in every way. that brings today's show to a close. join us on "bbc world news

so on the specific issue of north korean refugees, the u.n. t china is failing in potentially aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. errol will? >> and even though it can choose how much pressure it ecoerts on north korea -- exerts on north korea, you would say it's likely that china would use its power at the u.n. security council if and when this comes up. >> reporter: if it gets to the council, and that's still an if. the whole u.n. general assembly has to vote on this proposed bill. if it gets there, yes. as it stands now, china and probably russia will veto it. the other possibility, of course, is that china tries to water down the provisions so that they do not include a provision to send or to suggest that kim jong-un and top leadership end up at the hague criminal court. so that is really the quandary here. but already this report, which really goes interest detail into human rights abuses allegedly happening in north korea, has had an effect. clearly the north korean regime had been made nervous by the threat at least of being se

we are seeing a remarkable charm offensive from the north korean leader, from the top officials traveling around the world. we have three men, the number two, three, and four in north korea come here to south korea recently. this is effectively enemy territory. we really are seeing a charm offensive from pyongyang. most likely according to analysts, because of this united nations report on its human rights abuses. that's going through the process within the u.n. now. pamela. >> trying to talk about the apology from president obama apparently in aa letter brought to pyongyang from the u.s. director of national intelligence james clapper. i'm curious, the north korean government released a statement. what did they say about this? >> well, video we've heard about this is from the north korean side so, of course, it will be about to see if washington does admit that yes, president obama did give that apology. this is really what pyongyang wanted. they wanted the commander in chief of the u.s., president obama, to be apologizing to the leader of north korea. >> this is the most correct meeting

i'm sure north koreans -- they always want some very high-level person, american to go to north korea. but i'm sure they've been asking for former presidents, maybe president clinton. but this is what the u.s. came up with. it's a little bit surprising in terms of clapper as his choice. but i'm sure this is what was negotiated. >> and what was reported by ian williams is that mr. clapper claims there was nothing in exchange for this release. do you believe that? >> i do. i think north korea is on this charm offensive phase. they have their own rationale for it, including to sort of show the world that they're not a bad country and to have a motive of that, as i mentioned to you, about human rights -- >> and what's going on at the u.n. decisions like this are made at the highest level. do you suspect that kim jong-un himself was in on this? >> absolutely. there's no way they can be released without kim jong-un making the call. >> this follows the third release of the american last month, mr. fowle. does this show a tactics change, do you think, within the north korean government? >> ta

big report done in february by the united nations outlined a lot of human rights abuses that the north korean government has committed against their own people and it seems like, you know, north korea is not the most concerned about its international image but this report for some reason seems to have gotten them really worried. >> is there reason to believe that they would do something like this again or that they wouldn't or is it just really difficult to know when you are talking about north korea? when i say, "do something like this." i mean falsely imprison people? >> it's hard to say. they have been doing it awhile. i think it would be surprising if they stopped but predicting anything about north korea is so difficult. >> what do you think the freed -- maybe not hostages. prisoners, rather, would have to say about their experience? is there a lot of intelligence there that the u.s. will be able to gather from the two of them? >> i think little. i think the experiences they have had would have been very circumscrib circumscribed. i think it's important to point out while hundreds of tho

the north koreans prefer to deal with former presidents or high-profile citizens. some speculation that by releasing the end that kim might being trying to soften thoughts on korean. and the u.n. security council could soon refer kim and other officials to the humans rights court for violations. neither bae or miller will be was prosecute today going there will you the government is warping other americans it's not a good idea to go there. >>> robert kelsey professor of political sign and diplomacy in south korea and he says this time the north korean prisoner release is different. >> in the past the north koreans have milked these arrests of americans for a big high-profile visit frit a former president or high up official. this is actually pretty important for the north koreans for domestic legitimacy when the american leading stands next to an american president and tells people that north korea is a real country it's important the americans take it seriously and stuff like that. obviously prem will not go. staff can't go. a lot of people thought hillary clinton

they had left north korean airspace bound for america. words cannot adequately express our relief and gratitude that kenneth is finally coming home. we've been waiting for and praying for this day for two years. this ordeal has been excruciating for the family but we are filled with joy right now. i am thrilled to imagine hugging my brother soon. he will not have to spend another day at the haber camp. he can now recover from this imprisonment and look forward to his wife, kids and the rest of our life. our thanksgiving celebration this year will be one that we will never forget. we sincerely thank the united states government for all the hard work and dedication to securing my brother's release as well as the release of matthew todd miller. we are also grateful to the dprk government for allowing them to come home. we must also thank the swedish embassy in pyongyang for their tireless effort to advocate for kenneth during his prolonged imprisonment. we are grateful to everyone who has supported by brothers cause including reporters and e

the promised land because thailand will immediately deport them to south korea, though they are north koreanionals. and that is how they get out. they can spend several months getting resettled by the south korean government. often when they're given several thousand u.s. dollars as sort of a start-up fee by the south korean government, they will turn around and give a large portion of that money to the smugglers who got them in the first place. and some people spend years trying to pay off these smugglers for getting them to safety. john? >> it is unthinkable. thank you. david mckenzie live in beijing. >>> japan's prime minister is risking his political future by testing public support for his economic policies. just after the world's third largest economy slipped back into a recession, abe announced he's dissolving parliament and holding snap elections next glont month. >> he says the vote will be a referendum on abenomics, his plan to end years of sluggish economic growth. >> translator: we have finally gotten this chance of breaking free from deflation which has plagued us for the past 1

>> i think the north koreans don't want to influence the time of the meeting, especially the part of enda dealing with north korea. so i this i the north koreans were hoping by doing this, the chinese would be inclined to sort of cut them some slack and say, look, americans, they've done something, you no toad do something in response. i think it was an effort to kind of head off what jim just described very accurately as this kind of mood in the entire apec meeting something needs to be done about forth korea. >> the fact that the u.s. sent one of is officials, you think the u.s. think they got someone who runs the u.s. government. can you explain? >> they like that kind of thing. they value the idea of people running intelligence, especially people running the cia, which they believe kind of of runs the world. so they would have been very happy with the idea of sending general clapper. but i think from the administration's point of view, as jim clapper said, earn understands general clapper is a lot of things. he's not a diplomat. he's not there to negotiate something. he probably r

accusation is that he committed hostile acts against the north korean government. north korea with a tour group in april. later that month, north korea accused him of tearing up his tourist visa and requesting asylum and claims matthew miller wanted to be imprisoned so he can investigate human rights violations. he was sentenced to six months hard labor. looks like maybe matthew miller will be getting off next. and as they arrive at the coors field, we can hope now the ordeal is over, they can focus on healing and moving on. this release does not indicate a break through when it comes to north korean nukes officials told reporters anonymously. this talk stalled during 2008. there was an attempt to restart them but talks collapsed when north korea violated a ban "a back to yous of ballistic missle technology." the country launched a long range rocket. so the talks that restarting negotiations ended in 2012. it's still an area of major tension between the united states and north korea. i seem this is the family of matthew miller we saw kenneth bae. and as for james cl

they were imprisoned in a north korean camp. there is not much that we can learn about that. >> excellent point. matthew todd miller, time in captivity, 213 days, or six months, 30 days, concluded today. and kenneth bae, 736 days in captivity, or two years, six days, including today. too long. gordon, i thank you for your time and expertise and we'll see you again sometime soon. good to talk to you. >> thank you. >> thanks. >>> prison in minnesota putting its best foot forward, allowing a team of carefully selected inmates to train service dogsment they're teaching the canines 100 different commands and the progress is not only working wonders for the dogs, but apparently the inmates. >> they really have to plan, organize, be structured and to adhere to the training process of the service dogs. >> i think there has been a lot of growth not only in service dogs, but also the dog handlers who are with them. >> great. that program made possible by a nonprofit organization. i'm arthel neville. i'll see you at 6:00 o'clock. or (coffe

under which they were being held and treatment by north korean authorities. of course the big question now is whether this might lead to what any than thaw in the six-party attacks and the efforts of getting north korea to give up its nuclear weapon ambitions. it's too early to tell if there is briefing to reporters by the situation involving the release of these two men. it is important to know that while it's not technically illegal for u.s. citizens to go to north korea, the state department is telling u.s. citizens it's strongly recommended against traveling to this country. >> tell us about the background of their intention by the north koreans? >> well, we understand that kenneth bay was apparently trying to proselytize, and that is against north korean law. he had gone there more than two years ago, and was quickly arrested because of his alleged proces processproseli proseliting activities. and there had been real concerns about kenneth bae's health, and the u.s. had been pushing for a very long time to get him realized because of his deteriorating he

clapper met personally with north korean leader kim jong-un. the obama administration, the back and forth and dynamic we have had with north korea. sometimes shifting from defiance to occasional conciliation. here we have the family of kenneth bae walking to the podium for their comments. let's listen. >>> good evening. thank you for being here. we are finally here. my brother is home. all of our hopes and prayers for this moment have finally come true. we are so thankful. we are thankful that god never abandoned kenneth even when he was alone. we are thankful god never abandoned us even though the last years have been a journey we wouldn't wish on anybody. even when it seemed like there was no hope, here he is today. for that i am really thankful. kenneth's reason for being in north korea is because he loves people. he knows that no one chooses where they are we were and every human needs love. as he gave tours he was able to connect people from the outside world to the beauty of north korea. to us north korea seems like a strange place. don't

bay, a christian missionary, had been convicted nearly two years ago for trying to convert north koreansmiller was jailed earlier this year for disturbing the peace. neither will be prosecuted for traveling to north korea but the obama administration is warning other americans, it's not a good idea to visit. ross cylinder jordan, al jazeera, washington. >> joining us is isaac sto stonefish, a former beijing correspondent with newsweek. we appreciate your time. are you surprised by this? >> thank you for having me. i am surprised but a lot of what north korea does is surprising. it's the world's most opaque country. when they make a big statement like this, it's surprising to all of us on the outside. >> how do things like this happen? we know a little about what was going on. but what else might have been going on behind the scenes to make this happen? >> it seems like there has been a lot of backdoor diplomaacy between u.s. government and north korea' a. the timing is striking. it could be -- >> why now? >> hard to say but it could be -- it's a couple of weeks after they released the ot

/north korean relations? >> i really don't. the fact is that we've been burned by that country, as you know. president clinton tried to negotiate the agreed framework of 1994 to the end nuclear program, the north koreans violated that agreement. president bush tried the same kind of effort in 2007. the north koreans violated that. they can't be trusted. it's an erratic regime. it's a dictatorship of one person and one family so the best thing i think we can do and what the obama administration and bush administrations have tried to do is contain the problem, contain the regime, sanction them, repudiate them and hope that china helps in that containment policy. that's something that president obama wants to talk to the president about tomorrow. >> former undersecretary of state nick burns and also a harvard professor. thank you for joining us. i want to bring in two top lawmakers. senator john thune a member of the republican party in the senate and senator chris murphy, a democratic on the foreign relations committee. thank you

thailand, if it catches north korean refugees, will deport them back to south korea. say it's irrelevant whether it's the north and the south, and they take the humanitarian principle. i've covered refugees in parts of the world, the middle east and africa. normally what happens is that the unhcr, the u.n. refugee agencies, gets access to people fleeing because of persecution or because of human rights violations. they set up refugee camps. those people can eventually make it to other parts of the world and refugee status. china basically says that anyone who leaves north korea is an economic migrant and send them back. there's a great deal of frustration from the human rights world about china's action. but china maintains its stance and has done for many years. rosemary? >> yeah, certainly a tough journey for those defectors. david mckenzie joining us there live from beijing. thanks to you. >>> we keep our focus in the region and look at what's happening in japan. the country's prime minister is risking his political future by testing public support for his economic

the north koreans asked for a cabinet level official. it's -- the director of national intelligence, james clapper, he was chosen not because he's the director of national intelligence, but he was a cabinet level official chosen. but i think there is an advantage from the u.s. to help their top spy in north korea, to have a look around a little bit, perhaps. not that he could learn much. but you can say there is an advantage there, as well. >> yeah. well, you know, so much talk about this. but the big headline here, these two men are free, they're coming home tonight. jim sciutto, thank you so much. >> thank you, poppy. i know you have been making a point of, this we shouldn't underestimate that. if you're a family who has someone trapped in north korea, you don't know how it's going to end. we know the stories about political prisoners are treated there. so this is a -- you know, we shouldn't -- and i have no intention of underestimating the relief of the family and what an achievement it is for these two americans, in addition to jeffr

tuesday, we showed you images from the north korean embassy in london. it's opened its doors to showcase artwork from four artists. we sent along simon mcgregor-wood to take a look. >> reporter: north korea's london embassy is far from the exclusive diplomatic quarter. and unusually on tuesday, its door was open. for four days members of the public and journalists can see an exhibition of art. handpicked and under close supervision the artists spent weeks painting london scenes, showing alongside traditional scenes from home. >> the artists have also got paintings that are their own were pyongyang, and i think you'll see similarities in the brush strokes, and in the way that they are painted. you see a different scene. >> back home, these are the artists painting portraits of leaders, and who create the art for choreographed parades. >> embassy officials tell me they hope this event will build better understanding between north koreans. the sat reality is not many members of the public turned up. and north korea's embassy is a long way from the traditiona

in north korean prisons. now the americans are home in the u.s. with their families. cnn's ana cabrera shows us the dramatic events that suddenly took them from the departmeths solitary confinement and hard labor to home. >> reporter: after months and years of detention, two americans held prisoner in north korea are back in the united states. first off the plane, kenneth bae, who had been held two years, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for hostile acts against the government. claiming he was part of a christian plot to overthrow the regime. >> i just want to say, thank you all for supporting me and standing by me during this time. and it's been just amazing blessing to see so many people being involved, getting me released the last two years. and not to mention, now mentioning the thousands of people who have been praying for me as well. >> reporter: then matthew todd miller stepped off. miller had been detained since april, sentenced to six years of hard labor. he had been accused of tearing up his tour

and north korean governments for their roles in his release. >> also, i would like to thank the northernment as well for allowing me to go home and come home and be united with our family. >> bae and miller were found guilty of hostile acts. they have been serving multily year sentences in labor camps. >>> an army veteran who was -- was shot outside his homecoming party. he was gunned down during some sort of arg utility. nick valencia joins us with more. >> very heartbreaking story. >> sad tragic story for my hometown and los angeles. 22 years old. he had survived his tour in afghanistan. only to be shot and killed at his homecoming party. now, police tell me that his girlfriend threw a party for him after he had been back just a week. the suspect and the victim had some sort of contact, according to the lapd. this boiled over only for the suspect to come back looking for garcia. police tell me they believe garcea was the intended target, and they speak also about the ironies that garcia was able to survive his mission in afghanistan only to be shot and killed in his old neighborhood

he'd been trying to convert north koreans. he'd been serving a 15 year term. >> thank you for all your support and prayer and love. that has been encouraging for me, and for others. thank you. god bless you >>> news of the men's release had been welcomed earlier by president obama. >> reporter: director clapper is james clapper, the director of national intelligence. he was the highest ranking american to visit pyongyang in a decade. it's not clear why filip chlapik was brought in to negotiate or whether he had a second reason for meeting with officials in pyongyang. the north koreans prefer to negotiate with former president or high profile documents on the fate of u.s. citizens. there's a speculation that by releasing the men kim jong un pay be trying to sofens his country's imaging. the u.n. security council could soon refer kim and other nooe scrn officials to the -- north korean officials to the international court for human rights vil aces. >> the obama administration is warning other americans that it's not a good idea

it appears the north korean leader -- >> someone has a sense of humor.

i believe that is what has driven the north koreans to extend humanitarian gestures to the u.s., south korea, and japan. >> what do you see as the biggest stumbling block between u.s. and china relations? >> the biggest is to define the new framework for this relationship. the united states is a dominant power in a share for the past five decades. lots of questions about u.s. staying capacity in the region. the united states, with a pivot to asia, has discussed its anxiousness to remain in power. people do not want some conflict between the dominant and rising power. trying to figure out that framework is going to be important. there are lots of other issues. economics, trade, intellectual property rights, ciber. the big framework is what they have to figure out, and they do not think they have done that yet. now, to one of the most famous political friendships of recent times. secret recordings of conversations between ronald reagan and margaret thatcher have just been released. according to the former president -- a former president, they reveal the close friendship between the pair.

security council could refer kim and other north korean officials to the international criminal court for human right violations. neither kenneth bae no miller will be prosecuted for travelling to north korea. but the obama administration is warning americans it's not a good idea to visit >>> crossing over to london and speaking to the former u.k. ambassador to north korea. thank you for buying with us on the al jazeera newshour. along with the two american citizens, let's not forget there was jeffrey fowl -- fowl another american citizen, with why is all of this taking place now? >> i think there are various factors driving this. firstly the international situation seems to have turned against north korea. they have watched china and japan, and know that president obama will sit with president xi jinping. and prevent to drive a wem has not gotten -- wedge has not gotten anywhere. >> is freeing hostages out of goodwill the way that north korea operates. the united states in public say no concessions were offered. do you buy that? >> they said it in plain terms. if the state department

. >>> a pro north korean group in japan will be forced to leave its tokyo headquarters. functioned as a north korean embassy in japan as countries don't maintain diplomatic relations. the ownership was officially recognized. the property was use the by the pro-north korean group called the general association of korean residents in japan. it was put on the auction block at the request of a government backed debt collection agency. they filed a document with the tokyo court to prove it had wired the full purchase amount. it paid $19 million. the procedure kpleelted the transfer of ownership. a lawyer for the holdings says firm does not plan to lease or sell the property back to the association and will ask the group to vi indicate the building. and official had no comment on the issue. >>> now in sports, some of the world's top marshall artists are fighting it out near tokyo to choose their world champion. they are not taking part in the sport from japan. they are experts in sambo, created in russia. over 500 athletes are fighting for the top sambo title. they wear unifor

this time, the north koreans said they wanted to send a cabinet-level official. why james clapper? these talks did involve intelligence officials. there's a quiet channel between the u.s. and north korea. we don't hear that much about it. but it seems to be a more transactional channel where officials can get business done outside of the whole realm of diplomacy and what the larger context of the u.s./north korea relationship. that's why they wouldn't have sent secretary of state john kerry. >> what role did sweden play in all this? >> sweden is what we call the protecting power of the united states. the u.s. and north korea don't have official relations and there's not an embassy, the swedes look after u.s. interests there, if there are interests of u.s. citizens. if the u.s. needs to pass messages to the north koreans, sometimes they do that through the swedes. and the swedish ambassador has been visiting these american detainees over the years to make sure they're getting everything they need and they're treated very well. the swedish ambassador has been a key player in all of th

north korean officials say kim jong-un would likely see the movie. "the interview" opens on christmas day. >>> meet the california academy of science newest chick. these african penguins hatched earlier this month. they are just the size of a teacup so they are very small. the chicks will go through school to learn how to swim and get comfortable eating hand-fed fish and then will join the program. >> they are cute when they're small. >> i know. >> they come out brown. >> give them a week and they will be like this. >> no kidding. >> taking over the place. >> there we go. >> enjoy the rainy day. see you tomorrow. captions by: caption colorado comments@captioncolorado.com [ indistinct conversations ] >> ridge: hey. i know you're upset, but you got to pull yourself together. >> caroline: i know. the preview. >> ridge: yeah, it's a big day for us. could have been a bigger day if rick hadn't changed stuff around. >> caroline: i know. he's angry, and he's hurting, and it's my fault. >> ridge: not your fault. i was there, too, so... [ cellphone beeps ] oka

what finally convinced north koreans to let the men go? >> like a lot of decision, we don't know what precipitated it. interesting timing. interesting timing. a place where north korea may come up in high level talks. in terms of timing, the u.n. is considering taking action against north korea for perceived widespread human rights violations. it might be a bit of an olive branch from kim jong un in advance of those things. what we know for sure this morning, is that two american families are looking at all that international manoeuvring, and all the action on the highest level, saying for us, now, it's not that important >>> carrying his own bags, kenneth bae gets a hug from his mother, greets other family members and takes a walk on u.s. soil. a walk to freedom. he and michael todd miller home gain after imprisonment in north korea. kenneth bae's family worked tirelessly to keep his case alive and in the public eye. >> we are finally here. my brother is home. all of our hopes and prayers for this moment have come true. we are so thankful.