American Just Released from North Korea Uses Curious Adjective to Describe His Two Years in Captivity

JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. (TheBlaze/AP) — Kenneth Bae, freed after two years of captivity in North Korea, called his time as a prisoner "amazing."

Kenneth Bae, an American tour guide and missionary, was serving a 15-year sentence in North Korea. (Image source: AP/Wong Maye-E, File)

"I learned a lot," Bae also said, adding that he's thankful he wasn't forgotten.

Bae and Matthew Miller arrived at a Washington state military base Saturday night after their release was secured through a secret mission to the reclusive Communist country by James Clapper, director of national intelligence. Clapper accompanied Bae and Miller back to the U.S., Fox News said.

Clapper was the highest-ranking American official to visit Pyongyang in over a decade, the network added.

Bae appeared at a news conference a short time after landing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Seattle.

He thanked President Barack Obama and the many people who supported him. He also thanked the North Korean government for releasing him, saying "it's been an amazing two years, I learned a lot."

Bae was detained in 2012 while leading a tour group to a North Korea economic zone.