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North Korea abruptly released one of the three Americans that it has been detaining. At the same time, it announced that it would also consider allowing inspectors into the country to address human rights issues raised by the US and other members of the international community. North Korea appears to be taking a softer line internationally, supported by its confidence in the security of the regime.

The US State Department announced on Oct. 21 that American citizen Jeffrey Edward Fowle, 56, had been released by North Korea after six months of detention.

“Jeffrey Fowle has been allowed to depart the DPRK and is on his way home to rejoin his family. We welcome the DPRK’s decision to release him,” State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said during the regular briefing on Tuesday. Fowle reportedly left Pyongyang aboard a US Defense Department plane.

Fowle was arrested on May 7 on his way out of North Korea after a trip to the city of Chongjin in North Hamgyong Province. He was charged with distributing the Bible, which is regarded as a hostile act, but he had not been indicted.

Considering that Pyongyang has continued to ask for a high-ranking American official to visit the North to discuss the release of the three detained citizens, the government’s abrupt release of Fowle was unexpected.

Two female American reporters who had been detained at the border between North Korea and China in March 2009 were released after former President Bill Clinton visited North Korea.

Aijalon Mahli Gomes, an American who was sentenced to eight years of hard labor for illegal entry to North Korea in 2010 was freed in a similar way, after a visit from former President Jimmy Carter.

“Fowle‘s release does not appear to have been the result of negotiations or as quid pro quo. This varies from North Korea’s standard pattern of behavior,” a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.

In addition, North Korea made the surprising announcement that it would allow the US to carry out a human rights investigation if necessary. The US has retaliated against North Korea’s detention of American citizens by drawing attention to North Korea’s human rights record.

“Until now, we had refused to do anything of the sort. But now, we intend to show we are serious. Anything is possible depending on what response we receive,” Jang Il-hun, North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the UN, said during an interview with Voice of America (VOA) on Oct. 22. Jang was discussing North Korea’s recent proposal for talks about human rights with the international community, including the US and the UN.

When asked if the UN would be allowed to send inspectors to North Korea, Jang said, “If the proposal for talks is handled in a positive manner, we will respond in good faith. That’s why I mean that everything is possible.”

This series of moves by North Korea appears to be in line with its recent aggressive foreign policy, including the visit of three high-ranking North Korean officials - including Hwang Pyong-so, director of the (North) Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau - to South Korea, and Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong‘s visit to the UN.

“It is unusual to see the Kim Jong-un regime being this proactive and open. This seems intended to help the North become less isolated in foreign politics and to reflect the regime’s self-confidence,” said Kim Yeon-cheol, professor at Inje University.

In regard to the human rights issue, Kim Yeon-cheol predicted that North Korea would take aggressive countermeasures just as Cuba did in the mid- and late-1990s when its human rights record came under attack from the US, setting up domestic human rights organizations, inviting the Pope to visit, and opening the door for UN inspectors.

In the short-term, the future of relations between North Korea and the US will depend on what is done with the remaining two American detainees. Pyongyang may have released Fowle, but it still holds Kenneth Bae, 46, and Matthew Todd Miller, 24. The two, who were sentenced to 15 and 6 years of hard labor, respectively, are currently serving their sentences.

"North Korea will ask the US to relax its position in the UN about sanctions against the North for human rights violations, and the US will ask the North to release its citizens before the mid-term elections in November to demonstrate that it is protecting its citizens. If this process goes smoothly, the US will send a senior envoy to North Korea within the year, and possibly after the mid-term elections, to gain the freedom of the remaining two detainees,” said Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

But as long as the Obama administration does not adjust its basic hard-line stance on the North Korean nuclear program, only limited progress can be made in US-North Korea relations. Furthermore, the US government is unlikely to take a softer line on North Korea right before the mid-term elections for fear of provoking a backlash in public opinion.

“In terms of what the other countries would do, imagine a scenario in which the DPRK announces its returning to six-party talks, it agrees to a moratorium on nuclear tests, on missiles launches, halt to its nuclear programs,” said Sydney Seiler, the US State Department’s envoy to the six-party talks, in response to a question about the prerequisites for going back to the table. The comments indicate that the US government continues to insist that North Korea must take action instead of simply making promises.

Seiler made the remarks during a seminar commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Geneva Convention that was held at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on the same day.

By Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter and Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

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