Story highlights
- An American government plane picked up Fowle on Tuesday before flying to Guam
- Fowle spoke to CNN in September to ask the U.S. for help
- An official said the U.S. was still working to secure the release of Bae and Miller
- Fowle was arrested in North Korea in May for leaving a bible at a club for foreign sailors
Jeffrey Fowle, an American arrested in North Korea in May for leaving a bible at a club for foreign sailors, has been released and is on his way home, a senior State Department official told CNN on Tuesday.
An American government plane picked up Fowle on Tuesday before flying to Guam, the official said.
North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism."
Although North Korea contains a number of state-controlled churches, the totalitarian regime forbids independent religious activities, viewing them as potential threats to its authority.
CNN learned of Fowle's release earlier Tuesday but agreed not to report the news until he landed in Guam.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed Fowle's release on Tuesday, saying the Defense Department had arranged his transportation out of the country at the North Korean government's request.
American detainee released in North Korea 01:13
American's release a 'positive step' 01:19
"We certainly welcome the decision," Earnest said, adding that the United States has no updates on the status of two other Americans imprisoned in North Korea -- Matthew Miller and Kenneth Bae -- and calling on North Korea to "immediately release them."
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf echoed Earnest's call, saying the U.S. government "will continue to work actively on their cases."
She praised the "tireless efforts" of the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which houses the United States' representation within North Korea since the U.S. government doesn't have an embassy in the country.
Sen. Rob Portman said he's pleased Fowle "is returning home to his family and can close the chapter on a horrific ordeal in North Korea."
The Ohio Republican said he spoke with Fowle's wife and Robert King, the U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues, after Fowle -- a Miamisburg, Ohio resident -- was detained. He said he worked with the State Department and "many other entities to bring him home."
"North Korea is a country with egregious human rights violations and it's important that the U.S. continue to stand for the rights of all people, including religious freedoms, at home and abroad," Portman said. "My prayers are with Mr. Fowle and his family as he makes the transition home."
Last month, Fowle gave an interview to CNN pleading for U.S. help and speaking about conditions of his detention.
American captive: 'I'm getting desperate' 04:39
U.S. detainees in North Korea speak 02:27
Photos: Americans detained abroad
Photos: Americans detained abroad
Kim Dong Chul, a South Korean-born American citizen detained in North Korea, is escorted to his trial April 29 in Pyongyang. A North Korean court sentenced Kim to 10 years in prison for what it called acts of subversion and espionage. North Korea watchers interpret the detainment of Americans and other foreign citizens as a collection of bargaining chips by the reclusive regime.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
University of Virginia student Otto Frederick Warmbier was detained by North Korea after being accused of carrying out "a hostile act" against the government, state media reported. In March, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for allegedly removing a political banner from a Pyongyang hotel.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Jason Rezaian, The Washington Post's bureau chief in Tehran, was released January 16 as part of a prisoner swap. Rezaian was convicted by an Iranian Revolutionary Court in October, according to Iran's state-run media. Rezaian was reportedly facing up to 20 years, but the sentence was not specified. The journalist was taken into custody in July 2014 and later charged with espionage; the Post has denied all allegations against him. His wife, Yeganeh Salehi, also was detained in July 2014 but later released.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was freed as part of a prisoner swap that included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian on January 16. Abedini was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013. He was accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches. He was detained in Iran on September 26, 2012, according to the American Center for Law and Justice.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying, was freed as part of a prisoner swap that included Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian on January 16. An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Hekmati, but he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Siamak Namazi, a Dubai-based businessman with dual U.S. and Iranian citizenship, was detained while visiting relatives in Tehran, the Wall Street Journal reported October 29, citing unnamed sources. The Washington Post also reported his detention, citing a family friend who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Post reported that it wasn't clear what Namazi is alleged to have done. His detention would bring to five the number of Americans detained or unaccounted for in the Islamic republic.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Scott Darden was taken hostage by Houthi rebels in Yemen in March 2015. He was captured while working for New Orleans-based Transoceanic Development, according to a source close to his family.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority. The FBI increased its reward for information on Levinson from $1 million to $5 million.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Mothers Linda Boyle, left, and Lyn Coleman hold photo of their married children, Joshua Boyle and Caitlin Coleman, who were kidnapped by the Taliban in late 2012. Coleman was pregnant when she was kidnapped and is believed to have had a child in captivity.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Jailed since 2013 and sentenced to life for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Mohamed Soltan was eventually released, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in May 2015. Soltan's family denies he belonged to the Brotherhood. Soltan had been a dual U.S. and Egyptian citizen, but he renounced his Egyptian citizenship as a condition of his release.
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U.S. officials revealed in April 2015 that Warren Weinstein, a 73-year-old American aid worker that had been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011, had been accidentally killed in a U.S. drone strike targeting al Qaeda.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
One of three Americans detained in North Korea, Jeffrey Edward Fowle was released and sent home, a State Department official told CNN in October 2014. Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible in a hotel where he was staying. North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June of that year, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." Fowle told CNN: "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK."
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
In May 2013, a North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. North Korea claimed Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime. In a short interview with CNN in September 2014, Bae said he is working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp. "Right now what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me," he said. After months in detention, he and fellow American detainee Matthew Todd Miller were released in November.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Miller, an American sentenced to six years of hard labor in North Korea, was one of three Americans who spoke to CNN's Will Ripley in September 2014 and implored the U.S. government for help. The 24-year-old was accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry to North Korea.
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American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers in August 2014 after nearly two years in captivity. He is believed to have been captured in October 2012 and held by the al-Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, was jailed while working as a subcontractor in Cuba in December 2009. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf. He was eventually released in December.
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This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31, 2014. Bergdahl was released in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military. In March 2015, the U.S. military charged Bergdahl with one count each of "Desertion with Intent to Shirk Important or Hazardous Duty," and "Misbehavior Before The Enemy by Endangering the Safety of a Command, Unit or Place."
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U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport on December 7, 2013, after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained in October 2013 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman said the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
Y – Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released a few days later and is now back in the United States.
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Photos: Americans detained abroad
North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her left, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton.
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Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner.
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Detained in April 2011, Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month afterward. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.
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Without any apparent U.S. intervention, Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul.
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Josh Fattal, center; Sarah Shourd, left; and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted.
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Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was detained at Iran's Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security.
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Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial. He spent two years in prison and has since returned to the United States.
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Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April 2013 on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. He was released in June 2013.
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He spoke to CNN with Bae and Miller.
In the interview, Fowle said he has "no complaints" about his treatment.
"It's been very good so far, and I hope and pray that it continues, while I'm here two more days or two more decades," he said.
North Korean officials monitored and recorded the interviews and CNN was unable to assess independently the conditions under which the men were being held.
"It's a covert act and a violation of tourists' rules. I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK," Fowle said.
Fowle said at the time he expected his trial to start within a month.
Bae, a Korean-American missionary, was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in 2013. He told CNN he was working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp, but was being treated "as humanely as possible."
Miller was accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry. He told CNN his situation was "very urgent" and would soon be sent to trial and "directly be sent to prison."
All three implored the U.S. government to send an envoy to North Korea to help get them out of their situations, similar to how former President Bill Clinton helped secure the release of two journalists in 2009.
However it did not appear such an envoy was sent to negotiate Fowle's release.
The senior State Department official said the U.S. was still working to secure the release of Bae and Miller.
