Fowle home from North Korea

Jeffrey Fowle, a US citizen who had been arrested in North Korea in the spring was released Tuesday and arrived in his home state of Ohio early on Wednesday. Fowle had traveled to North Korea as a tourist and reportedly left a Bible behind at his guesthouse.

"Jeff would like you to know that he was treated well by the government of the DPRK and that he's currently in good health," his lawyer Timothy Tepe told the Ohio-based WDTN television station live near Dayton. Fowle was seen wearing a brown jacket and standing next to his wife and children and his lawyer. He did not speak to the television crew.

His lawyer said he needed time to adjust to life back home before speaking about his six-month detention in the reclusive country. Tepe added that the Fowle family wanted to thank the US State Department and the Embassy of Sweden and others for securing his release.

Taking 'special measures'

The North Korean state news agency, KCNA, reported on Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un had released the "criminal" after "repeated requests" from US President Barack Obama.

"Kim Jong Un, first chairman of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK, took such a special measure as setting free Jeffrey Edward Fowle, US criminal, taking into consideration the repeated requests of US President Obama," KCNA reported.

The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that Fowle had departed from North Korea and was now in the US territory of Guam. It also confirmed that he was deemed "to be in good health" after being checked by a physician.

He was arrested in Chongjin in May after having left a Bible in a guesthouse, according to North Korean reports. His family denied allegations that he had been traveling on a church mission with the aim of converting North Koreans to Christianity.

'No deal' on other 'criminals'

While visiting Berlin, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that there had been no negotiations with North Korea on the release of the 56-year-old American, but that Washington would be willing to resume talks and possibly draw down its military presence in the region if the nation took steps toward denuclearization.

"There was no quid pro quo, and we are very concerned about the remaining American citizens who are in North Korea and we have great hopes that North Korea will see the benefits of releasing them also as soon as possible," Kerry said, referring to Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller.

Miller, 24, began serving a six-year hard labor sentence in late September for allegedly committing espionage. In 2013, North Korea sentenced Bae, 46, to 15 years hard labor for "trying to overthrow the regime" in Pyongyang.

sb/mkg (AP, Reuters)