(MENAFN- QNA) North Korea has released one of the three American citizens detained in the communist state.
US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf made the announcement on Tuesday at a regular news briefing, Korea's (KBS WORLD) website reported.
Jeffrey Fowle has been allowed to depart the DPRK and is on his way home to re-join his family. We welcome the DPRK's decision to release him.
Harf added that Fowle had been evaluated by a doctor and appears to be in good health but refrained from giving more details on his release, saying the U.S. will let the North Koreans speak for themselves about their decision.
The 56-year-old was arrested in early May after being accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel where he was staying. He had entered the North in late April and was touring the city of Cheongjin in North Hamgyong Province.
With Fowle's release, two American citizens remain detained in the North, including Kenneth Bae and Mathew Todd Miller.
Sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "anti-state crimes," Bae has been detained in the North since November 2012. Miller, who has been detained since April, has been sentenced to six years of hard labor for committing what the North referred to as "hostile acts" against the North.
While welcoming Fowle's release, the State Department said it will remain focused on the two remaining Americans detained in the North and will continue to work actively on their cases.
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