[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- North Korea will deport a U.S. citizen who was detained for illegal entry through the border with China in October, the North's state media said. It did not say when the man would be allowed to return home.
Bruce Byron Lowrance has told investigators that he made an illegal entry into North Korea in an operation arranged by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday, adding the man was caught on October 16.
The North's pledge to deport the American citizen is seen as a goodwill gesture ahead of talks between Washington and Pyongyang on arranging a second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Ahead of a landmark U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore in June, North Korea released three American detainees during U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang in May. The three had been held on charges of espionage or "hostile acts" against the regime.
Previously, North Korea has used American detainees as leverage to win concessions from Washington. Last year, American college student Otto Warmbier was released but he was found in a coma and died shortly after returning home.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
