WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller are on their way home, after North Korea agreed to release the two Americans.
"We welcome (North Korea's) decision to release both Mr. Bae and Mr. Miller," the Office of the U.S. Director of National Intelligence said in a statement released Saturday. "We want to thank our international partners, especially our Protecting Power, the Government of Sweden, for their tireless efforts to help secure their release."
Their release comes just a few days after the second anniversary of Bae's detainment by North Korea's totalitarian regime. Arrested while leading a group of tourists in the northern city of Rason, the 46-year-old Washington State native was sentenced 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state.
At just over two years in captivity, Bae was the longest-held American prisoner in North Korea in many years.
Earlier this week, his family renewed their pleas to the country's communist regime to release their son.
"It is an anniversary our family did not want to have to celebrate," the family wrote. "While Kenneth remains a prisoner in North Korea, our lives are also held captive; filled with unspeakable heartache and anxiety."
U.S. citizen Matthew Todd Miller was detained by North Korean police earlier this year and was sentenced to six years hard labor for "hostile acts" in September.
