NHK, 06 April 2018– The son of an American man held in North Korea has expressed hope that a planned summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will lead to the release of his father.

Kim Sol, 27, is the eldest son of Kim Sang-duk, a 59-year-old Korean American who was detained last April. Two other Americans are also being held in the North.

Kim Sang-duk was teaching accounting at a university in Pyongyang before his detention. North Korea’s state-run media say he committed “hostile criminal acts with an aim to subvert the country.”

Kim Sol told NHK on Friday in Washington that he believes his father will be released and everything will be okay. But he said that doesn’t mean he’s feeling positive all the time.

He said he hopes the detainees are not forgotten and that they will come up in the conversations of the 2 leaders.

Kim Sol also said the detention of his father gave him a chance to learn about the Japanese nationals who were abducted to North Korea decades ago.

He said he feels sorry for the families of the abductees and hopes they will keep fighting.

Experts say steps may be taken toward the release of the Americans held in the North before the meeting of Trump and Kim Jong Un.