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| Freed US man 'leaves North Korea' | Freed US man 'leaves North Korea' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| US activist Robert Park has been freed from detention in North Korea, according to reports from South Korea. | US activist Robert Park has been freed from detention in North Korea, according to reports from South Korea. |
| Yonhap news agency said Mr Park had left the North and had arrived in Beijing, China. One report said he was heading towards the US embassy. | Yonhap news agency said Mr Park had left the North and had arrived in Beijing, China. One report said he was heading towards the US embassy. |
| Mr Park, a religious activist, crossed into North Korea from China by walking across a frozen river in December. | Mr Park, a religious activist, crossed into North Korea from China by walking across a frozen river in December. |
| North Korean authorities said on Thursday they had decided to "forgive and release" Mr Park. | North Korean authorities said on Thursday they had decided to "forgive and release" Mr Park. |
| Mr Park, who had reportedly wanted to highlight human rights issues in North Korea, was said to have admitted his mistake. | |
| A US official in China refused to immediately confirm Mr Park's arrival in the Chinese capital, saying he was a "private citizen". | |
| Mr Park, a US citizen of Korean ancestry from Tucson, Arizon, entered North Korea on foot, walking across the frozen Tumen River on Christmas Day, 25 December, last year. | |
| According to his associates, 28-year-old Mr Park claimed he had seen a vision from God of North Korea's liberation and redemption. | |
| On Friday Mr Park was reported to have confessed that he crossed the border because his view of North Korea was based on false Western propaganda. | |
| He now fully realised that religious freedom is fully ensured in North Korea, the country's main news agency reported. | |
| The statement has been dismissed as "propaganda" by Mr Park's colleagues. |