North Korea says it will free detained U.S. missionary

Robert Park of Tucson, Arizona, slipped across the frozen Tumen River into the North carrying letters calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to close the country's notoriously brutal prison camps and to step down from power, rights activists in Seoul said.

North Korean media reported in a brief dispatch Dec. 29 that authorities had detained an American suspected of illegal entry but said nothing more until Friday, leaving his fate in question for weeks.

State media in Pyongyang said Friday that authorities decided to release Park after he showed repentance and admitted committing a crime.

The government "decided to leniently forgive and release him, taking his admission and sincere repentance of his wrong doings into consideration," the Korean Central News Agency said.

There was no information about when Park would be released 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, told The Associated Press by telephone from his home in Carlsbad, California, north of San Diego.

In Washington, U.S. officials said they had been informed of Park's impending release.

"North Korean authorities informed us recently of their intention to do so and we are pleased they are proceeding," National Security Council spokesman Ben Chang said.

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.

Swedish Ambassador Mats Foyer said he had not been authorized to issue a statement and referred queries to the State Department.

The 28-year-old missionary's detainment came nearly four months after two other Americans, journalists Euna Park and Laura Ling, were released with former President Bill Clinton's help after they were arrested at the border and sentenced to prison.

Late last month, KCNA reported the arrest of another American suspected of illegal entry. He has not been identified.

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