An American missionary arrived in Beijing after being freed by North Korea, which had detained him for illegally crossing its border from China on Christmas Day.
US consular officials escorted Robert Park as left the North Korean plane Saturday at Beijing's airport.
US Embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson said Park will leave later in the day for the US
Park, 28, slipped across the frozen Tumen River into North Koreacarrying letters calling on leader Kim Jong Il to close the country'snotoriously brutal prison camps and step down from power — acts thatcould risk a death sentence in the totalitarian nation.