(LEAD) U.S. welcomes N. Korea's decision to free U.S. activist: White House

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, background throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (Yonhap) -- The United States Friday welcomed North Korea's
decision to release an American activist held after sneaking across the Chinese
border on Christmas Day to draw international attention to the North's human
rights lapses.

"We welcome the reports of North Korea's decision to release Robert Park," said
Ben Chang, deputy spokesman for the National Security Council. "North Korean
authorities informed us recently of their intention to do so and we are pleased
they are proceeding."
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said earlier in the day that
North Korea would release Robert Park, citing the "sincere repentance of his
wrongdoings," without elaborating on when he would be freed.
The 28-year-old Korean American reportedly said that he did not want to be freed
until North Korean leader Kim Jong-il released all political prisoners, believed
to number in the hundreds of thousands, in several concentration camps.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said he expects Park to soon arrive in
Beijing.
"As to whether he has been released and is now in the care of the Swedish
Embassy, it's unclear at this point," Crowley said. "But we expect him to travel
today and we will be standing by to offer him whatever assistance he needs as he
makes his way back to the United States."
The spokesman said the U.S. has not provided any compensation to the North in
return for Park's release.
"Other than requesting consular access to this individual, we've had no
substantive discussions with North Korea," he said. "We think that these cases
should be based on humanitarian grounds and we're grateful at this step by North
Korea, just as we were grateful last year when the journalists were released.
There was no deal involved here."
In August, former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with Kim to secure the release
of two American journalists detained months earlier for illegally entering the
North via China while reporting on North Korean defectors.
The U.S. had consular access to the journalists through the Swedish mission in
Pyongyang on several occasions, but not with Park.
"We have pressed for consular access," Crowley said. "I don't think that that was
ever granted. But we are grateful that this has been resolved expeditiously."
Meanwhile, North Korea has said it detained another American citizen who
illegally entered the North in late January.
U.S. officials have said they were seeking consular access to the person, who has
not been identified, through the Swedish mission, which represents U.S. interests
in North Korea, with which Washington has no diplomatic ties.
Park's release comes amid reports that Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist
Party's international department, will fly to Pyongyang next week to try to lure
North Korea back to the six-party talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons
programs.
Crowley would not respond to the reports on Wang's imminent Pyongyang trip,
saying, "I'll defer to the government of China on that."
However, he said, "The Chinese senior officials have regular discussions with
North Korea. We value that leadership by China."
Crowley, meanwhile, said that the U.S. is ready to provide humanitarian
assistance to North Korea, believed to be suffering from a severe food shortage.
"We stand ready, if North Korea's prepared to request assistance, that the United
States would again be fully supportive of international efforts to help feed the
North Korean population," he said. "We regretted the fact that North Korea ceased
its cooperation with the World Food Program last year."
Crowley was referring to the expulsion of international aid workers from North
Korea early last year over the monitoring of food distribution. Aggravating North
Korea's economic plight were U.N. sanctions in response to North Korea's missile
and nuclear tests.
North Korea's recent revaluation of its currency made it worse, he said.
"It appears that government steps recently regarding restricting markets and
devaluating its currency have had a disastrous effect on the North Korean
people," he said.
Crowley called for the North to return to the six-party talks on its
denuclearization.
"This is why we continue to stress to North Korea that your people can have a
brighter future if you are willing to work constructively with the international
community, choose to apply your resources to feed your people rather than
applying your resources to build missiles and other weaponry that potentially
destabilizes the region," he said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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