North Korea to release US citizen Bruce Byron Lawrence, state media claims

An American citizen will be released from North Korea, state media in the country reported.

Bruce Byron Lowrance, had been reportedly been arrested for allegedly illegally entering the country from China.

Imprisoned since 16 October, the Korean Central News Agency said he would soon be deported to his homeland.

The state department said that they were aware that the release of an American citizen had been reported, but declined to go into more detail.

At around the same time last year, North Korean officials said they had deported an American citizen with the same name.

They said said that he had been found wandering near the country's border wtih China, and that he had wanted to help resolve international conflict.

On this occasion, Mr Lowrance allegedly wanted to visit to improve relations between the two countries.

North Korea will sometimes release imprisoned Americans as part of a negotiation or as a gesture of goodwill.

At the same time Mr Lowrance's release was announced, the secretive communist state also claimed it had developed an “ultramodern” new weapon. No details were provided about its capabilities.

Earlier this month US secretary of state Mike Pompeo was set to meet officials from the country.

But North Korea cancelled at last minute, the meeting was cancelled without explanation, although officials had said that the meeting would be rescheduled, without naming a date and time.