'It's a dream to be home.'<br />Those were the words uttered by one of the three Americans who are back on U.S. soil following their release from North Korea.<br />Meeting them off the plane in the middle of the night was President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump as well as Vice President Mike Pence.<br />President Trump heaped more praise on the North Korean leader for freeing the Americans,... and said his upcoming summit with Kim will be a big success.<br />Won Jung-hwan reports. <br /> The three Americans released from detention in North Korea are back in the U.S.<br />They arrived at Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C.,... and President Trump was there to board the plane and greet them at around 3-AM, local time.<br />He and the first lady escorted the three down the stairs onto American soil,… and announced their official welcome to the press.<br /><br />In his remarks, President Trump expressed his gratitude to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for releasing them.<br /><br /> "We very much appreciate that he allowed them to go before the meeting... I really think he wants to do something. I think he did this because I really think he wants to do something and bring their country into the real world. I really believe that John (unidentified reporter) and I think, I think that we're going to have a success. I think this would be a very big success."<br /><br /> They had been detained for more than a year,… and among them, Kim Dong-chul, a Christian pastor, had been detained the longest -- more than 900 days.<br />The other two, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim -- who both worked at a Pyongyang university, were detained by the North Korean regime about a year ago. <br />Their families weren't able to meet them at the base when they arrived, but they have issued a statement thanking President Trump for engaging directly with North Korea.<br /><br /> As the three men stepped onto the tarmac, there were cheers from the press when they saw they were in good condition and able to walk without assistance.<br />But when asked about their time in North Korea, it was clear that they had been through a lot.<br /><br />"They treated us in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor, but when I got sick I also got medical attention."<br /><br /> The Americans' return is another step towards possibly a new era of relations between Pyongyang and Washington... as the summit between Kim and Trump draws closer.<br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News. <br />
