Rudy Giuliani, now a member of President Donald Trump’s legal team, told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday morning that North Korea is releasing three American prisoners.
Here is the latest information:
Update 3:25 p.m. EDT May 3: White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that she could not confirm reports that three Americans detained in North Korea would be released from labor camps Thursday.
“I can’t confirm the validity of the reports currently out about their release,” she said at a news briefing, directing questions about the reported release to Giuliani.
Update 9:10 a.m. EDT May 3: South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Wednesday that North Korean officials moved three U.S. citizens from a labor camp to a hotel in early April. The agency cited an activist and officials did not immediately confirm the report.
The detainees were identified as Kim Hak-song, Tony Kim and Kim Dong-chul.
CNN reported that Kim Dong-chul has been detained in North Korea since 2015, when he was arrested and accused of spying for South Korea. Tony Kim was detained in April 2017 and Kim Hak-song was detained in May 2017, CNN reported. Both men, who worked at the privately run Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, are accused of committing "hostile acts" against Kim Jong Un's regime.
Update May 3, 2018 8:13 AM EDT: "We've got Kim Jong Un impressed enough to be releasing three prisoners today," Giuliani said on the show.
Giuliani's statement came hours after Trump tweeted: "As everybody is aware, the past Administration has long been asking for three hostages to be released from a North Korean Labor camp, but to no avail. Stay tuned!"
Other news outlets, including the Washington Times and the Independent, reported that the prisoners had been released but that U.S. officials had not yet confirmed the news.
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