Carter secures release of jailed US teacher in N.Korea

Former US President Jimmy Carter has flown out of North Korea on a private jet after securing a special pardon for an American teacher who has been languishing in jail since January.

Carter and Aijalon Gomes, 31, are expected to arrive in Boston in the US later today, Carter Centre spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed.

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Mr Carter's departure, saying the ex-leader apologised for Gomes' actions.

The pardon "to set free the illegal entrant is a manifestation of [North Korea's] humanitarianism and peace-loving policy," KCNA reported.

The rare trip by an American dignitary to the North Korean capital took place amid reports that leader Kim Jong Il is making a surprise trip to China.

There is no indication that the two met during the former president's three-day trip.

Mr Gomes was arrested in January, accused of crossing into North Korea illegally from China.

He is the fourth American in a year detained for sneaking into North Korea, a country that fought against the US during the Korean War and still does not have diplomatic relations with Washington.

In April, North Korean authorities sentenced Gomes to eight years of hard labour and fined him the equivalent of $700,000 (£451,084) for trespassing and committing a "hostile act".

State-run media reported that Mr Gomes "admitted all the facts".

Last month, North Korean media reported that Mr Gomes had attempted suicide.

It claimed he was "driven by his strong guilty conscience, disappointment and despair at the US government that has not taken any measure for his freedom".

Mr Carter's trip follows an earlier secret visit by a US delegation, including a consular official, two doctors and a translator, to Pyongyang to try to secure the teacher's release.

The group visited Mr Gomes at the hospital but had been unable to negotiate his release.