3 Americans in North Korea to be released: Trump lawyer

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

Three Americans detained by North Korea will be released "today", one of President Donald Trump's attorneys said Thursday.

"We got Kim Jong-un impressed enough to be releasing three prisoners today," Rudy Giuliani told Fox News.

The announcement comes after Trump appeared to allude to their release Wednesday.

"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," Trump said.

Despite Trump's effort to place blame squarely on the Obama administration, two of the three detainees -- Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim -- were imprisoned in 2017 when Trump was in office. Kim Dong Chul has been in North Korean custody since 2015.

The White House did not respond to multiple inquiries from Anadolu Agency seeking comment on the trio's release following Giuliani's revelation.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told CNN in a statement she could not immediately confirm their potential release, but said "we think that that would be an incredible sign of goodwill, and certainly a great statement for the North Koreans to make ahead of the summit and the discussions."