American held in North Korea arrives home
Robert Park was greeted by his parents and brother in a private location at the airport after arriving on Saturday evening on a commercial flight from Beijing
Los Angeles: An American missionary who entered North Korea illegally on Christmas Day and was detained by the communist regime for 43 days was welcomed back to the United States in an emotional reunion with family members at Los Angeles International Airport.
Robert Park was greeted by his parents and brother in a private location at the airport after arriving on Saturday evening on a commercial flight from Beijing.
Earlier on Saturday, the 28-year-old Korean-American from Tucson, Arizona, flew to the Chinese capital from Pyongyang.
The family stopped briefly as they left the airport in their car. A thin and pale Robert wouldn't speak and kept his eyes downcast while his brother, Paul Park, told reporters that he's in good condition.
"Hugging him, there didn't seem to be anything broken," he said.
Robert crossed the frozen Tumen River from China into North Korea on December 25, carrying letters calling on leader Kim Jong Il to close the country's notoriously brutal prison camps and step down from power acts that could have risked execution in the hardline communist country.
The family didn't know Robert had planned to cross into North Korea until about 14 hours before he did it, Paul said. He said they were informed of the plan during an international phone call. He didn't specify any further.
"I have to admit I didn't believe it until I saw it on the international news," Paul said of his brother's crossing into North Korea. "To say that the family wasn't prepared would be putting it mildly."
