Freed American Arrives Home From N. Korea

The American citizen sentenced to hard labor by North Korea and then freed with the help of Jimmy Carter (click here) arrived back in the US today, CNN reports. Aijalon Mahil Gomes took a private plane back with the ex-president, meeting his family on the runway of Boston's Logan airport. "Thank you President Carter for traveling to North Korea to bring Aijalon home," the family said in a statement.

Carter, for his part, said nothing on whether he had met with Kim Jong-Il in order to secure the release of Gomes, 31, who is described as a Christian activist. It remains unclear exactly why Gomes crossed over the border from China. "That's not in his character," said an uncle. "He did not take things to the extreme. He may have just been trying to peek in and help others and teach them. He had good motives. I know he had good intentions." (More Aijalon Mahil Gomes stories.)