Former US President Jimmy Carter has arrived back in the US with an American whose release he won from North Korea.
Mr Carter and Aijalon Gomes touched down in Boston, where the plane was met by Mr Gomes’ family.
Mr Gomes, who had been living in South Korea, was jailed in January after crossing into North Korea from China.
The insular nation’s state-run news agency said leader Kim Jong-il had granted the former president’s request to “leniently forgive” Mr Gomes.
Mr Gomes, who appeared thin, embraced Mr Carter and his mother upon walking off the plane.
Gomes, described by colleagues as a devout Christian, was also fined 70 million won ($700,000; £460,000 at the official exchange rate).
Mr Gomes, who had been working as an English teacher in South Korea, reportedly crossed the border from China into North Korea on 25 January. It is not clear why he entered the country.
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