川普欢迎被朝鲜释放的三名美国公民

U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were among those who gathered to greet three Americans freed from detention in North Korea as they arrived early Thursday at Joint Base Andrews just outside of Washington.

The president had predicted "quite a scene," saying their return is "very exciting" because "it represents something very important to this country, people never thought a thing like this could happen."

The plane carrying Tony Kim, Kim Hak Song and Kim Dong Chul arrived just before 3 a.m. local time and parked in front of a giant American flag suspended in the air on the ladders of two firetrucks. Trump and his wife Melania then boarded the plane to speak to the group.

The Korean-Americans had left North Korea on a plane with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before later transferring to a different plane during a stop in Japan.

In a joint statement released by the State Department late Wednesday, the three men expressed "deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary Pompeo, and the people of the United States" for their return.

While in North Korea, Pompeo met with leader Kim Jong Un for 90 minutes – their second such meeting in little more than a month as Trump and Un prepare to hold a summit.

Trump told reporters at the White House Wednesday the date and location of the summit would be announced within three days, but that it will not occur at the Korean Demilitarized Zone as he had previously suggested as a possible venue.

The Wall Street Journal reported later Wednesday that it appeared Singapore would be the likely summit site.

美国总统川普、副总统彭斯和其他一些人星期四早晨在华盛顿近郊的安德鲁斯联合基地迎接了被朝鲜关押刚获得释放的3名美国公民。

川普总统此前说：“那会是一个特别的场面”，这三人的回国“令人激动”因为“这代表着对美国的重大意义，人们想不到这样的事情会发生”。

载着金相德（Tony Kim）、金学成(Kim Hak-song)和金东哲（Kim Dong Chul）的飞机在华盛顿时间凌晨3点之前降落，滑行到两辆救火车云梯悬挂的巨大美国国旗之前。川普总统和夫人梅拉尼亚登上飞机，与三人交谈。

这三名韩裔美国公民与蓬佩奥国务卿同机离开朝鲜，然后在日本转乘另一架飞机返回美国。

美国国务院星期三晚上公布的一份联合声明说，这三人表示，他们得以返回美国，要深深感谢美国政府、川普总统、蓬佩奥国务卿以及美国人民。

蓬佩奥国务卿访问朝鲜时与金正恩会谈了90分钟。这是一个多月以来蓬佩奥第二次与金正恩会谈。川普总统和金正恩正准备举行峰会。

川普总统星期三在白宫对记者说，峰会的日期和地点将在3天内公布，但是地点将不会是他曾经表示是可能性之一的朝鲜半岛非军事区。