Jimmy Carter wins release of US citizen from Korea

Looking gaunt but relieved, an American freed after nearly seven months jailed in North Korea left capital Pyongyang yesterday in the company of former US President Jimmy Carter.

Aijalon Gomes, 31, hugged Carter just before they boarded a plane at Pyongyang's airport, TV footage showed.

Mr Carter had flown to the North Korean capital three days earlier on a rare private mission to negotiate Mr Gomes' release.

The former US president "courteously requested" a special pardon for Mr Gomes, which leader Kim Jong-il granted, North Korean state media said. Gomes was sentenced in April to eight years of hard labour and a hefty fine for trespassing and committing a "hostile act."

There was no indication that Kim - on a surprise trip to China this week - met Mr Carter.

The US welcomed the release. We "are relieved that he will soon be safely reunited with his family," White House spokesman PJ Crowley said.

Mr Gomes was the fourth American in a year arrested for trespassing in North Korea, which fought against the US during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested last March and released only after former President Bill Clinton made a similar trip to Pyongyang to plead for their freedom. Activist Robert Park crossed into North Korea from China in December but was expelled 40 days later after making an apology on state media.