Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., said Thursday the release of three American prisoners from North Korea is a step in the right direction, but that Pyongyang must still make "concrete changes."
"This is something for everyone in our country to celebrate," Curbelo told CNN's "New Day" about Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song arriving back in America Thursday morning. "Anytime Americans are detained under these conditions under a rogue regime and released, it's a good day for our country.
"Now, we have to put this in the context of the broader North Korea issue, the negotiations that are ongoing, there's a lot of hope for those negotiations, but some of us are also a little skeptical because we know the nature of Kim Jong-Un's regime and we really want to see concrete changes," he added.
"Priority number one must be immediate and verifiable denuclearization. If that happens, then we can really say that this administration has changed the world."
President Donald Trump met the three former prisoners on their arrival at Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
"I'm very honored to have helped these great folks, but the true honor is going to be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons," he said, according to The Hill. "We have a meeting scheduled in a very short period of time. We have the location set. We'll see if we can do something that people did not think was going to happen for many, many years."
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