Biden welcomes North Korea release of US veteran, calls to free Bae

 US Vice President Joe Biden Saturday welcomed North Korea's release of an elderly American veteran as "positive" but called on Pyongyang to free another US citizen who was arrested a year ago. Merrill Newman, an 85-year-old Korean War veteran, was deported "from a humanitarian viewpoint," the North's official news agency KCNA said, citing his "sincere repentance" as well as his age and health condition as factors for his being freed. Biden said it was "a positive thing they've done" but called for the release of Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator who was arrested a year ago and sentenced to 15 years' hard labour on charges of seeking to topple the government.