Carter to reach US with N. Korea released African-American detainee

WASHINGTON - Former US President Jimmy Carter’s office has confirmed that he has left Pyongyang with African-American Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been jailed in North Korea since January, after securing an amnesty deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il.

“Jimmy Carter will return to the U.S. with Aijalon Gomes. Gomes should be in Boston by Friday afternoon,” Fox News quoted Carter Center spokesperson Deanna Congileo, as saying.

She further stated that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il granted amnesty on Carter’s request.

U.S. officials have billed Carter’s trip as a private humanitarian visit to try to negotiate Gomes’ release.

Gomes was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in North Korean for entering the country illegally from China. (ANI)