N. Korea Said to Reach Out in Releasing American

North Korea’s decision to release an American arrested as a spy three months ago signals that the isolated Pyongyang regime wants to “reengage with the international community,” according to the U.S. congressman who negotiated the release.

“There was no quid pro quo on the American side” in exchange for the release, Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) said Wednesday. He added that a small sum--”no more than $5,000”--was paid to the North Koreans to cover the American’s “hotel bill.”

Evan Carl Hunziker, 26, arrived in Seattle on Wednesday morning and planned to spend Thanksgiving at home with his parents in Tacoma, Wash.

Hunziker said being back “feels great, I’m telling you.” He said very little to the media, but did say the North Koreans “treated me humanitarily.”

Hunziker was handed over to Richardson at North Korea’s Pyongyang airport Wednesday morning and flew to Tokyo aboard a U.S. Air Force plane. He alighted in a drizzle, wearing a baggy green parka and black sweat pants, looking healthy but stunned by the large media contingent that awaited him on the tarmac.

Hunziker was quickly whisked away for a medical checkup. He later took a commercial flight from Tokyo to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where he was reunited with family members.

Still unanswered: Why did the young missionary reportedly swim across the Yalu River from China into North Korea on Aug. 24?

“Let’s just say he tried to be a tourist a little too much,” Richardson said. “I believe he’s a peaceful human being who made a mistake by going to Korea in an unauthorized fashion.”

The hermetic Communist regime arrested Hunziker on the spot but waited more than six weeks before announcing his capture on espionage charges, which can carry the death penalty in North Korea.

South Korea and the United States both discounted the spying charge as ridiculous.

Analysts speculated that Hunziker was being used to divert attention from a damaging incident in September, when a North Korean submarine allegedly on a spying mission ran aground off the eastern coast of South Korea, triggering a massive manhunt for suspected North Korean infiltrators. The incident enraged South Korea and sent relations between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington back into a deep freeze.

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The United States and South Korea have demanded an apology for the submarine incident, and reports from Washington say that the North Koreans might be willing to express regret in order to put relations back on track.

“My sense is the North Korean government wants to put the submarine incident behind it and reengage with the international community,” Richardson said.

The congressman said he dealt primarily with North Korean Foreign Ministry officials, who expressed a desire to move forward with a multinational nuclear power agreement and a willingness to proceed with talks about the North’s missile arsenal.

The officials also said North Korea is ready to accept a second U.S. team this year to search for remains of American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Korean War, Richardson said. “That is a positive change,” he said.

Richardson has served as a special envoy for President Clinton. In 1995, he helped negotiate the release of two American civilians held by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after they trespassed into Iraq.

In 1994, he persuaded North Korea to release a U.S. pilot and return the body of a co-pilot after the two were shot down when their helicopter strayed into North Korean airspace.

Although he described his 24-hour trip to Pyongyang as a humanitarian mission, Richardson said he “pressed the North Koreans to resolve the submarine incident” as quickly as possible.

South Korea cut off all aid to its hungry northern neighbor after the discovery of the sub. Richardson said the North Koreans indicated that they needed more food aid but “didn’t make any pleas” for help.

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Richardson said Hunziker was treated well by the North Koreans, who held him first in a detention center and then in a hotel.

A Swedish diplomat had been allowed to visit Hunziker on Washington’s behalf, since the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea.

Hunziker’s father, Edwin, said the State Department told him North Korea’s initial demand of $100,000 had been whittled down to $5,000 “room and board.”

Richardson said a hotel bill of less than $5,000 was paid, but he was vague about who paid it.