kim sang—duk, also known as tony kim, was detained on espionage charges in april 2017 while working aty of science and technology. then a month later kim hak—song was held on suspicion of "hostile acts" while working at the same university. from seoul, here's laura bicker. there was a study done this recently, and over 500 south koreans are thought to still be in north korea. but there are certainly six that are concerned that have concerned the korean government, they have been asking the north korean government to try and get them back. they say that they've been in negotiations and now will negotiate harder. they say they are concerned that this is part of their plan, but it's also worth mentioning we just had a statement from tony kim's family. he is one of the three detainees from the us who is now on his way back to united states after being held for more than a year. he was working for the pyongyang university of science and technology, along with kim hak—song, who was certainly taken. there are members of the universities who have been campaigning for their return. the statemen

tony kim and kim hak-song since last spring.ecretary pompeo arrived in north korea tuesday and met with kim, securing the release of the men and finalizing the upcoming summit with president trump. >> both sides want to negotiate a deal. i think it's going to be a very successful deal. >> reporter: republicans said the gesture by the communist dictator was a good first step. >> can only be viewed as great news. >> reporter: president trump will travel from the white house to andrews air force base to greet pompeo and his guests early thursday morning. tony kim's family said: the summit will be announced over the next couple of days. >> reporter: kenneth craig, cbs news, the white house. >> and president trump says that the timing of the summit will be announced over the next couple days. >>> new at noon, a push to ban assault weapons from two of the nation's largest teacher pension funds. a new bill on the table is calling for divestment from gun stocks. anne makovec reports. >> reporter: assault weapons are already banned in ca

tony kim, kim dong chul and kim hak-song were held for various charges for over a year, but they seemed to be in good health when they left the plane and stepped on the tarmac. they were taken to walter reed medical center for testing. president trump says this is a sign of progress with north korea and said he believes some great things can happen. >> the fact that we're able to get them out so soon was really a tribute to a lot of things, including a certain process that's taking place right now. >> reporter: the former detainees released a statement when their plane refueled in alaska. they thanked the president, secretary of state mike pompeo, and the american people for bringing them home. it was pompeo who finalized their release during his second meeting with kim jong- un in six weeks. secretary pompeo also nailed down the details with kim jong- un regarding his immediating with president trump. on wednesday, north korea's state-run media mentioned the upcoming summit for the first time. details have not been made public yet. jackie ward, kpix 5. >>> israel's military has attacke

the american citizens tony kim kim jong troll and kim song back on american soil released by north korea down from very much enjoying the limelight at this moment of where we're going to ising their release that no doubt done by the secretary of state. as it was all over the last couple of days let's go back to clare richardson our correspondent in washington is following this for us clarify the presidents are in the sounding very optimistic and raising the bar and expectations for what's going to happen at the summit coming up later this month beginning in june and possibly singapore. right we just heard him say that he's optimistic that kim jong un is serious about seeking a new way forward and this is again really he talked about their personal relationship and the fact that this could indicate cooling tensions between the united states and north korea he said it was nice of kim jong un to release these hostages early surely surely there is also a political reason at play and it's not simply from the goodness of his heart all of a sudden the thing that's going to be interesting is whe

the family of tony kim thanking the president for engaging directly with north korea and soul kim isnxious to reunite with his father. >> i don't know if i'll cry or jump up and down. i don't know will i faint because i missed him so much. >> reporter: tony kim and kim hak-song were arrested and held for unspecified hostile acts. kim kim was serving ten years in a north korea labor camp. >> the prize i want is victory for the world. >> reporter: pompeo saying we're not going to relieve sanctions until such time we achieved objectives. kim jong-un proving he's willing to give up three american detainees but unanswered will he do more. >> we have to see now through negotiations if the north koreans are willing to give up nuclear weapons. >> reporter: tonight the president is warning iran of severe consequences if it restarts its nuclear program and the first new look at a smiling kim jong-un with secretary pompeo in north korea and for that upcoming summit, president trump ruled out the dmz as a possible site. the only other location he publicly mentioned as a finalist is singapore. le

the three men are kim jong il tony kim and kim hawke song all are americans who were imprisoned in north korea for between one and two years for quote anti-state activities the charges are widely seen as bogus. secretary of state met pompei i made a thirteen hour visit to the hermit kingdom to arrange the plant thumb it between trump and came down on us in the process pump air also secured the men's release. the country is new tourists for its harsh labor camps. you know are you know we were treated in many different ways. for me i had to do a lot of labor with. the wanted money but when i got sick i was also treated by them you know. just a little. tramp seems to think this is a sure sign that kim is ready to reconcile he even thanks the north korean leader for freeing the men but kim is every bit as unpredictable as his american counterpart and it's unclear if today show peacemaking will lead to actual peace. release forty four people are dead many more are missing after a dam burst in kenya's rift valley on wednesday evening homes were swept away as water rushed down the hillside in s

the three men are kim jong schol tony kim and kim hawke song all are americans who were imprisoned in north korea for between one and two years for quote anti-state activities the charges are widely seen as bogus secretary of state mike pompei i made a thirteen hour visit to the hermit kingdom to arrange the plan to summit between trump and kim jong on in the process pompei are also secured the men's release. yes the country is notorious for its harsh labor camps. you're going to go we were treated in many different ways. and for me i had to do a lot of labor for the illegal the one minute but when i got sick i was also treated by them enough so that the unspeakable don't. trump seems to think this is a sure sign that kim is ready to reconcile he even thanks the north korean leader for freeing the man but kim is every bit as unpredictable as his american counterpart and it's unclear if today show peacemaking will lead to actual peace. or you have to dig with d.w. news i'll be back at the top of the hour with more world news followed by the day i hope to see that. climate change. waste

was arrested in two thousand and fifteen for allegedly spying for south korea the other two men tony kim and kim hawks all were detained last spring and accused of hostile acts yes. there was goodwill to at the world table tennis championships in suite where teams from north and south korea were due to things off what transpired was something special. they will counter is two separate korean teams each vying for a place in the world championships semifinals this is a special time for north south relations and after the purse for peace from that leaders last week it was time for politics to meet ping pong i think. there are three. three. people who really got. the media kind of like if you go to sleep you know. i think. i thank. you for. a historic moments and perhaps a first in the history of international sports amidst tournament's macheath. and i wondered if we could make a joint team and whether i could join the team and now it has really happened and i feel very proud i did not want to go up to that because it's a great honor and the tie can be part of the joint team which will becom

who you're seeing right now live are kim dong-chul, kim hack sung, and tony kim, landing at joint base andrews right now. you can see peace signs right there, applause from the president and the first lady. also being greeted by vice-president mike pence. the release came after secretary of state mike pompeo again met with north korean leader kim jong-un in pyongyang. telling reporters on a plane the form he detainees appear in good health. >> the release now paves the wait for historic come it between kim jong-un and president trump which secretary pompeo says could be announced in the next few days. we do not know yet where that meeting will be, although many people have said trump has indicated it could be singapore and we know that that is -- this release here, this monumental release, historic release comes ahead of those talks that are expected sometime in the next month or two. >> word of the visit of the secretary of state mike pompeo came really when president trump was having his press conference about pulling out of the iran nuclear deal when he was asked at the end of that.

kim dong chul, tony kim, kim hak song arriving to joint base andrews. in kim dong chul's case, being held for three years in north korea, sentenced to ten years of hard labor there. in the joint statement, "we'd like to express our deep appreciation to the united states government, president trump, and secretary pompeo for bringing us home. we thank god and all of our families and friends to return for our return, god bless america, greatest nation in the world." a real confidence building step ahead of the method summit between the president and kim jong un. the president more optimistic that the summit could bear frui fruit. believing that kim may indeed be changing his ways. listen here. >> i really think he wants to do something. i think he did this because i really think he wants to do something and bring our their country into the real world. i really believe that, and i think we are going to have a success. i think this will be a very big success. >> president trump not the only official believing that. last year and this driveway behind me, secr

track in terms of speed so i'm very honored to have helped the three folks these three folks are kim tony kim and kim phuc song all are americans who were imprisoned in north korea for between one and two years for quote anti-state activities. secretary of state must pump aoe made a thirteen hour visit to the hermit kingdom to arrange the planned summit between trump and kim jong on in the process pump a also secured the men's release the country's new tory us for its harsh labor camps. are over and you know we were treated in many different ways. for me i had to do a lot of labor we. need the women here but when i got sick i was also treated by the you know to be unsuitable doing nothing. from a north korean labor camp tour reception with the u.s. president it's all happened in less than a day for these three men trump seems sure it's a sign that kim is ready to reconcile with the north korean leader is every bit as unpredictable as his american counterpart it's unclear if today show peacemaking will lead to actual peace. just a quick reminder now the top stories that we're following for you

kim dong-chul has been held in the country while tony kim and hak-song were both arrested last year. they were tweeting just in the last couple moments i had productive meetings with kim jong-un and made progress. he says he is delighted to bring home these three americans. we want to go right now to nbc news correspondent live in beijing. janice, this is a moment that many of the world had been waiting to see. it's now here. we know that overnight tonight around 2:00 a.m. president trump will greet those detainees on the tarmac of andrews air force base here in d.c. >> reporter: this is seen as a necessary step before there was any announcement made about the date and location of the summit between kim jong-un and president tres trump. the release of the last three americans came after secretary of state mike pompeo metaphor 90 minutes with kim jong-un about those summit details. there had been a lot of anticipation about this growing over the past couple weeks and continue tense fied with reports about a week ago that the men had been moved from labor camps to a hotel in pyongyang.

. >> reporter: the president first met tony kim, kim hak- song and kim dong chul on board the plane. he thanked north korea's leader, kim jong-un, for letting them go after more than a year in north korean prisons. secretary of state mike pompeo helped secure the freedom of the u.s. citizens during a meeting with kim jong-un. it was pompeo's second trip to north korea to negotiate the details of president trump's upcoming summit. >> this is a wonderful thing that kim released the folks early. it was a big thing. very important to me. and i really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful. >> reporter: from joint base andrews, the three former prisoners went to walter reed military hospital where they will get rest and medical attention as they transition back to freedom. the president also took a moment to remember otto warmbier the american student detained in north korea who died last june a few days after he was allowed to return home with severe brain damage. >> i want to pay my warmest respects to the parents of otto warmbier. >> reporter: warmbier's pa

tony kim and kim hak-song finally were on american soil and had reached their freedom. you can see that, triumphant. the president thanked kim jong-un for releasing the prisoners. here's what he said. >> a great honor. hopefully everything will work out. we want to thank kim jong-un who really was excellent. >> the president heard to hear. he said he wants to thank kim jong-un for being excellent to these people. clearly the president said that because he wants to keep the plans for the summit on track. the last thing you want to do is derail a summit because you say something that gets kim jong-un all upset. it's easy to get them upset. we've seen that in the past. but it brought very sharp criticism from the senate minority leader and a give me a break or give him a break response from the house speaker. listen here. >> exultation by the president and others of the greatness of north korea doing this evades me. we can't be fooled into giving the north korean regime credit for returning americans that never should have been detained in the first place. american citizen

tony kim, kim hak-song and kim sang duk were held for years but seemed to be in good health.y were taken to walter reed medical center for further testing. president trump says this is the sign of progress with north korea and said he believes some great things can happen. >> very important thing to all of us to be able to get these three great people out. >> reporter: the former detainees released a statement when their plane refueled in anchorage, alaska. they thanked the president, secretary of state mike pompeo and the american people for bringing them home. it was pompeo who finalized their release during his second meeting with kim in six weeks. the secretary also nailed down a few details with kim jong-un regarding his meeting with president trump. on wednesday, north korea's state-run media mentioned the upcoming summit for the first time. details have yet to be made public. in the newsroom, jackie ward, kpix 5. >>> today the public can weigh in on plans to save san francisco's ocean beach from erosion. kpix 5's anne makovec reports. >>> of course this is a problem up

tony kim as he is known also taken last year. the great news, harris, is they are reported to be in good health. they walked by themselves to the plane leaving pyongyang. the family of tony kim released a statement a short while ago thanking all those who worked toward his return. thanking the president directly for engaging directly with north korea and also by the way thanking god. and yes, on the agenda also for secretary pompeo during this very busy visit, the upcoming planned summit involving president trump and kim jong-un. the secretary himself described his meeting with the north korean leader kim jong-un, his second meeting, by the way, with this man, a good lengthy conversation. another official said substantial progress had been made on the summit. this is amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past week we've seen kim jong-un meeting with chinese president xi at another summit. we just heard from president trump and some important information first the >> the date, we should know, maybe the end of this month, mor

tony kim and kim hak-song who were working at the only private university in pyongyang had been detained since last year while businessman dong-chul had been detained since 2016. their release was secured by mike pompeo on his trip to north korea and is a major victory for the trump administration. it's seen as a gesture of good will ahead of the trump/kim jong-un summit planned for early may or late june. late may or early june. mike pompeo said on his trip all the logistical details were hammered out. the summit will last one day and could be extended for two days if necessary. cbs news has learned that the trump administration is planning for the trip in singapore and the white house will officially announce all of those details in a couple of days. the coming days. kylie atwood, cbs news. >>> well, coming up on "cbs this morning," "face the nation" moderator margaret brennan's interview with vice president mike pence on the release of the detainees and, of course, the upcoming summit in north korea. >>> president trump's personal attorney michael cohen is being accused of cashing in

tony kim and kim hak—song will soon be reunited with their families. of crimes against the state. relationshipween north korea and the united states. of goodwill ahead of his planned summit with kim jong—un. nobody thought this was going to happen. and i appreciate kimjong—un doing this and allowing them to go. successful. but as i always say, who knows? but who knows what's going to happen? less than a year ago. a propaganda poster in north korea. from unexplained brain injuries and died days later. and the united states government for working to bring them home. meeting between mr kim and president. the much anticipated summit. situation on the korean peninsula. but there are difficult discussions ahead. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. chris joins us now from washington with the latest. we are waiting to this touch down around 7:50am our time. around 7:50am our time. president —— is president trump going to be there? going to be there? andrews air base and this will be a presidential welcome. andrews air base and this will be a presidentialwelcome. presidentialwelcome. trump is taking a

hotel a north korean official arrived to inform the secretary that kim jong un granted amnesty to tony kim, hak-song and kim dong-chul and said americans should be careful never to make the same mistake because it was a difficult decision for kim jong un to decide to release the men. there is a doctor on the plane and they are on the way home and they are in good shape, it appears. pompeo says that he spent 13 hours on the ground planning the summit between president and kim jong un. earlier today, the president gave more detail about what to expect out of the summit. >> will it be at the d.m.z.? >> it will not. >> do you deserve the nobel prize? >> everyone thinks so. the prize i want is victory for the world. that is what we are talking about. that is the only prize i want. we have a great chance to make a great deal for the world. >> pompeo arrived in pyongyang yesterday to continue planning the summit between the leaders and he says it will last one day with the potential to go in a second day. the u.s. officials said they also agreed to meet again before the summit to finalize the pla

the three men are kim jong il tony kim and kim hawke song all are americans who were imprisoned in north korea for between one and two years for quote anti-state activities the charges are widely seen as bogus. secretary of state mike pompei i made a thirteen hour visit to the hermit kingdom to arrange the planned summit between trump and came down on us in the process says pompei also secured the men's release . the country is new torrijos for its harsh labor camps. here and you know we were treated in many different ways. for me i had to do a lot of labor with. the land but when i got sick i was also treated by them you know this is the instability of the. trump seems to think this is a sure sign that kim is ready to reconcile he even thinks the north korean leader for freeing the men but kim is every bit as unpredictable as his american counterpart and it's unclear if today show peacemaking will lead to actual peace. but are we on the road to peace with north korea best to ponder this possibility then my guest tonight eight in foster carter is a familiar face year of the w. he has bee

after many months are being held prisoner in north korea, tony kim and kim hak—song will soon be reunitedh their families. like kim dong—chul they were accused of crimes against the state. they're released as part of an astonishing change between the relationship with north korea and the united states. president trump considers as a gesture of goodwill ahead of his plan summit with kim jong—un. gesture of goodwill ahead of his plan summit with kim jong-un. nobody thought this would happen. and i appreciate kim jong—un doing this and allowing them to go. we picked a time, we have picked a place for the meeting, or some ice, time, we have picked a place for the meeting, orsome ice, as time, we have picked a place for the meeting, or some ice, as delayed call it, and i think it will be very successful —— summit. but who knows what is going to happen? these contrasted starkly with the return of otto warmbier eight a year ago. the american student was sentenced to years of hard labour for stealing a propaganda poster in north korea. he was sent back to north america with unexplained brain inju

was arrested in two thousand and fifteen for allegedly spying for south korea the other two men tony kim and kim song were detained last spring and accused of quote hostile acts. or the film director roman polanski has been expelled from the academy of motion picture arts and sciences more than forty years after he admitted having unlawful sex with a thirteen year old girl the organization that awards the oscars also voted on thursday to oust comedian bill cosby convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault a week ago. a porn star a president and his lawyer there have been more twists in the stormy daniels scandal surrounding the u.s. president today now before we bring you the latest let's take a look at what we know so far now the porn actress stephanie clifford her stage name a story danno she alleges that she had sex with donald trump in two thousand and six a year after he married his wife milan yet in twenty sixteen dangles was paid one hundred thirty thousand dollars by trump's lawyer michael cohen you see him there she says that it was hush money to keep her quiet abou

both tony kim and kim hak song work for western funded pst. mostly by church groups here in the u.s., south korea and europe. the school says their attention had nothing to do there with the work at their university and are learning tonight that they have both been living in that family with a chinese border town when they were detained. >> we appreciate you bringing that onset and reporting and we are also getting the pool of reporters new information at about 2:00 a.m. eastern, the way this will play out is that vice president mike pence may be coming in his own helicopter and arriving there first. then, we will see the president arriving. you see the live picture right there, those two fire trucks with the american flag. they will arrive with first lady melania trump. then after that, we would expect that we would see the first plane carrying michael pao and the secretary of state followed by a plan, playing with more medical. period after being greeted by the president, vice president, first lady and other dignitaries, there may be some of

tony kim was an accounting teacher at the university of science and technology. he was arrested in 2017 while boarding a plane to leave the cup and charged with hostile acts against north korea. later was charged with committing hostile acts of north korea. president trump paying tribute to otto warmbier. he was returned to the united states in a coma last june. he died days later. >> a great young man who really suffered. is and his parents have become friends of ours. they are spectacular people. and i just is want to pay my respects. >> reporter: with the president paying his respects to otto warmbier's family certainly pointed out the very high stakes going forward. we have learned that singapore is the likely location for this historic summit, likely to happen in about a month or so. there's so much work to be done getting to that point. we know secretary of state mike pompeo, who had that extraordinary meeting with kim jong-un will be briefing the president. and they are going to begin making preparations. what this does clearly is open the door for serious

kim dong-chul, kim hak-song and tony kim were being held.s air force base tomorrow. the three wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. they seem to be in good health. pompeo had a good meeting with kim jong-un and set a time and place for their upcoming sumsum. >>> iran's parliament is calling for reciprocal action from the u.s. withdrawal from the deal. president trump declared the u.s. is leaving the deal. he said, quote, we cannot prevent an iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement. >> a memo reinstates many sanctions lifted in 2015. the organization overseeing inspections inside iran confirmed this morning iran is still obeying the terms of the deal. elizabeth palmer is in tehran with more reaction. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. certainly for the people of iran and the government of president hassan rouhani, the u.s. pull out from the nuclear deal say devastating blow. and already we can see the hard liners maneuvering to take advantage of it. conservative

of hostile acts and that is what resulted in his imprisonment there's also tony kim who had been there since april of two thousand and seventeen he was doing rather was doing humanitarian work but was accused by the north korean government of espionage and then there was one other man that has been there the longest his name kim jong il he's in his early sixty's we are told he was detained in twenty fifteen accused of spying he had one of the harshest sentences ten year sentence for hard labor now we should point out that there is one other american last june who was also brought home to the united states he was brought back to warm beer in a vegetative state and shortly after returning to the united states died of his injuries obviously the americans feeling much more positive about the outcome of this release of the three hostages ok so this is my compose play in the u.s. secretary of state was seeing he's just. and bucking we're waiting it's a separate plane that's bringing these three former prisoners to joint base andrews is that right kimberly and tell me something about. some mo

tony kim, kim dong chul and kim hak-song have been reunited with their families.hey returned to the u-s early thursday morning- and were greeted by president donald trump and first lady melania trump. after landing, they were sent to walter reed to make sure they were in good health. (jrs) happening (jrs) happening tomorrow -- the san francisco board of supervisors will talk with executives from tetra tech, the firm accused of falsifying results from the $1 billion radiation cleanup at hunters point naval shipyard, at a hearing. the u.s. navy paid pasadena-based tetra tech $1 billon to clean up toxic waste at the former shipyard in 2002 for a redevelopment project where thousands of people would live. however -- in 20-12, workers contracted by tetra tech claimed cleanup data had been falsified. (jrs) still ahead tonight -- nurses at one hospital went above and beyond for their patients for mother's day... we'll tell you how coming up (michelle) plus... it's another sign of the times. sky high bay area housing costs... is putting a strain on law enforcment. see wha

kim hak song and tony kim were released from prison last month and were being held at a hotel. they had been sentenced to years of hard labor for allegedly spying and other offenses. u.s. officials wary after the death last year of american student otto warmbier within days of his release from a north korean jail. his mission this time, unannounced until he was already in asia. >> secretary pompeo is going to north korea, he will be there shortly in a matter of an hour. he's got meetings set up. we have our meetings schedule swreext our meetings set. >> venue, date and length of the president's summit with kim will be finalized. he warned again. maybe it will work out, maybe it won't. pompeo on his first trip as america's top diplomat, said the u.s. won't repeat the mistakes of the past with north korea. well normally, president trump does very little business at 2:00 a.m. but he clearly wants to be seen personally to welcome the men home at andrews air base. and this is a confidence-building measure by the north koreans. it's hard to see how that summit could go ahead with the

. >> reporter: kim sang duk, tony kim, was detained last april accused of attempting to overthrow the north korean government. kim hak-song was detained in may of 2017 on suspicion of hostile acts. kim dong chul arrested in october 2015 on spying charges and 2016 interview asked the u.s. or south korean government to rescue him. years later through the translate ever he described this moment as a dream -- through the translator, he described this moment as a dream. >> we were treated in many different ways. for me, i had to do a lot of labor. but when i got sick, i was also treated by them. >> reporter: this comes within a backdrop of what's a historic summit between president trump and kim jong- un. >> the fact that we're able to get them out so soon was really attributed to a lot of things, including a certain process that's taking place right now. >> reporter: that process, ongoing negotiations between north korea and the united states when it comes to denuclearization on the korean peninsula. >> this is what people have been waiting for, for a long time. nobody thought we could be

the family of one of the men tony kim released a statement thanking president trump and the other that is worked to bring him home. they also ask for prayers for the people of north korea and for the release of other prisoners still being held. abc news, new york. >>> grief counselors and psychologists on hand at an east bay high school where a student was found dead in the swimming pool yesterday. amy hollyfield shows us a memorial for the 15-year-old boy is growing. >> reporter: basketball shoes now line the gate outside the swimming pool at san ramon alley high school. the basketball team left them as a tribute to the teammate ben curry found dead at the bottom of the school's pool yesterday. the gate is a memorial to the 15-year-old and as students arrived for class today they stopped by to remember him and console each other. >> it's been definitely a very eerie silence i suppose you could describe it as. there's just been a really kind of mourning tone. >> reporter: the school district activated the crisis team and brought in a full contingent of counselors and support staff. >>

kim hak-song and tony kim were both detained last spring. the prisoners briefly touched down on u.s. soil wednesday refueling in anchorage, alaska. pompeo arrived at joint based andrews on a separate plane. president trump and first lady melania trump greeted them. mike -- vice president pence and karen pence also at the arrival. the families were not present. the men heading to walter reed medical center. >>> summit between trump and kim is expected to happen in singapore early next month. jackie ibanez, fox news. >>> john mccain is urging the senate to reject the nomination of haskell because he says her role in overseeing the use of torture by americans is disturbing. during her confirmation hearing yesterday, pasco addressed her role in a controversial interrogation program. she told senators that she would hold herself to a higher standard pledging to never again use brutal interrogation techniques. that was not enough for several protesters. who had to be removed by capital police. some senators also question half bull on how she plans

mr trump and his wife melania greeted kim hak—song, tony kim and kim dong—chul onboard a plane whichrce air base in washington, before escorting them onto american soil. the men all appeared to be fit and well. speaking on the tarmac, the us president said the release of the detainees was a welcome development, ahead of a planned summit between himself and the north korean leader, kim jong—un. my my proudest achievement will be, this is a part of it, but it will be when we denuclearise that entire peninsula. this is what people have been waiting forfor a peninsula. this is what people have been waiting for for a long time. nobody thought we could be on this track in terms of speed, so i am very honoured to have helped the three folks, they are great people. i got to speak to them on the plane, they are great people, they have been through a lot. but it is a great honour. but the true honour is going to be we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons. our correspondent stephen mcdonell is in seoulfor us. stephen, this is all part of the diplomatic choreography before the big su

tony kim worked at a university in pyongyang. he was detainein april 2017 and charged with espionage. and kim hak-song, detained in may 2017. he is a christian missionary accused of hostile acts. for more on the diplomatic efforts taking place between t u.s. and north korea, i spoke earlr with our state department correspondent barbara plett-usher. the american detainees are going to land at 2:00 a.m. on tuesday thursday. the president will be on the tarmac to greet them. is this the concession the u.s. was looking for ahead the summit between president trump and the north korean leader? nrbara: yes, it is. the administratier explicitly said the release of n.e detainees was a condit you remember mr. trump accepted the invitation to the summit without making such a demandic- to some crm, i should say. but it was always going to be difficult to see him sitting down with kim jong-un while americans were inrison in labor camps. that was made pretty clear to the north koreans, and they responded. laura: and yet a north korean official

their names, kim dong chul and tony kim and kim hak song received a hero's welcome overnight. personally greeted the men after their plane landed at the base early this morning. >> the president hailed their return ahead of his scheduled talks with north korean dictator kim jong-un. paula reid is at the white house with the significance of the prisoner release. paula, good morning. >> good morning. the release of these three men is seen as the most significant accomplishment so far for the trump administration in its negotiations with north korea. it's also seen as a sign that the regime may be willing to move past decades of discord with the u.s. and its allies ahead of an historic summit. flanked by the president and first lady, tony kim, kim hak song and kim dong chul, emerged from the plane after their years in prison. the president calling this a proud achievement and he thanked the leader of north korea. >> i really think he wants to do something and bring that country into the real world. >> reporter: kim dong chul, arrested in october of 2015, said it was like a dream

kim sang—duk who was known as tony kim worked at the university in pyongyang, he was detained in aprilmonth later, a christian missionary held on suspicion of hostile acts. these releases contrast starkly with the return of this man less than a year ago. the american student was sentenced to years of hard labour for stealing a propaganda poster in north korea. he eventually was flown back to america suffering from unexplained brain injuries, and died just days later. at one stage, president trump's angry words and even threats looked like they could bring conflict with north korea. instead, the newly released americans believe he put pressure on kim jong—un that ensured that they could return home. the us secretary of state went to pyongyang to oversee the releases and finalise details of the much anticipated summit between president trump and kimjong—un to discuss denuclearisation. the photos of mike pompeo and mr kim laughing together made the front page of north korea's normally anti—american state newspaper. if there was ever a symbol of change, it is this. but even those images co

who goes by tony kim was arrested in april twenty seventeen he also worked at the university and was accused of hostile acts trumper had been suggesting that unless the north koreans take real denuclearization steps that he wouldn't go to the summit well the north koreans have given him something else very easy for them to give and now the summit will absolutely go ahead donald trump used to call the north korean leader a little rocket man and warned of a hostile reaction to further threats of attack from their west career best not make any more threats to the united states they will be met with fire of fury. like the world has never seen that in march there was a dramatic turnaround when president trump announced summit plans after a visit by a south korean delegation to the white house the man who is now u.s. secretary of state mike pompei oh followed up with visits to north korea to lay the groundwork for talks with president trump as three americans celebrate their release the family of student auto war india will be thinking of what could have been arrested in north korea and he

back in the united states it's been more than a year since kim haq song and tony kim have seen their families for kim don shula it's been even longer he was imprisoned in north korea two years ago forced to do hard labor after being convicted of espionage speaking through a translator kim described his treatment in north korea forced to work but also treated well when sick there were a lot of we were treated in many different ways for me i had to do a lot of labor but when i got sick i was also treated by them the release of the three americans is being viewed by the white house as a goodwill gesture by north korea's leader want to thank him. really. was. excellent to these three incredible people they are really three incredible people the release of the three americans is the product of negotiations ongoing with the united states and north korea but it is also a prelude to the upcoming summit between donald trump and north korean leader kim jong a summit that trump says he hopes will yield even greater results. trump says his primary goal is to achieve complete denuclearization of t

president in twenty seventeen the first tony kim who also is known as kim soft was one man who worked at a pyongyang university as did kim hock song and they were accused of hostile acts and have been held for about a year or so donald trump has said that the u.s. administration has been working hard for their release and certainly there was a lot of anticipation to just see how these women were doing of course remembering that the last time that an american was released after being detained in north korea it was the case of auto warm beer who was unfortunately returned to the u.s. in a vegetative state and ultimately died we hear not much about what happens in north korea but many reports of the harsh human rights conditions that the citizens indeed face in north korea and the kind of treatment that these men must of had to face while in north korean detention but we saw them walk off the plane there seemed to be in good health which will be welcome news not least for the families of these men who certainly will be very much looking forward to being reunited with them to south korea'

kim dong-chul, tony kim and kim hak song waved to onlookers in maryland at 3:00 this morning. president trump and the first lady were on hand to greet them. mr. trump called the return a quote, special night for these three really great people, his words. he also thanked the north korean leader, kim jong un. >> he was nice in letting them go before the meeting. i mean, frankly, we didn't think this was going to happen. and it did. >> the three men are now under observation at a military hospital. they will be reunited with their families after what hospital officials call a quote, optimal period of decompression, which we hope won't take too long. hours after the prisoners' release, president trump tweeted the date and location for his historic meeting. the first between the sitting u.s. president and the leader of communist north korea. it will take place on june 12, a little more than a month from now, in singapore. >>> developing news now from hawaii where scientists are warning that the kilauea volcano is on the verge of a new explosion. increased seismic activity has been