AP source: Jimmy Carter going to NKorea to free American imprisoned there

AP source: Carter going to NKorea to free American

WASHINGTON — A senior U.S. official says former President Jimmy Carter plans to travel to North Korea to bring back an American citizen now detained in the communist nation.

The official said late Monday that Carter is expected to depart on Tuesday on a “purely humanitarian mission” to free Aijalon Mahli Gomes (gohms), who was arrested and sentenced in April to eight years of hard labor for entering North Korea illegally and for an unspecified “hostile act.”

The U.S. official said no American officials will travel with Carter.

The official said North Korea had agreed to free Gomes if Carter came to bring him home.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.

Foreign Policy Journal first reported the Carter trip Monday.