The plane carrying two US reporters freed by North Korea from months of detention has landed in Los Angeles.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee were granted a pardon after a visit to Pyongyang by former US President Bill Clinton.
The two women had been found guilty of entering North Korea illegally in March and sentenced to 12 years hard labour.
Mr Clinton's wife, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, welcomed the move but said it would not affect talks over North Korea's nuclear programme.
Mrs Clinton, speaking on a visit to Kenya, said the future of US relations with North Korea was up to Pyongyang.
'Private envoy'
The two reporters left North Korea on the chartered flight to Los Angeles with Mr Clinton, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-il issued them with a special pardon.
Their plane touched down at Burbank airport in Los Angeles shortly before 0600 (1300 GMT) on Wednesday morning.
The official North Korean News Agency (KCNA) said their release was a sign of the country's "humanitarian and peace-loving policy".
Mr Clinton's unannounced visit to Pyongyang had been described as a private mission but a White House official later confirmed that North Korea had asked Mr Clinton to visit.
The official said the women had told their families during telephone calls from prison that Pyongyang had suggested they could be freed if Mr Clinton came to the country as a private envoy.
A senior US official said President Barack Obama had been aware of the mission from its early stages and that US allies involved in the six party talks over North Korea's nuclear programme were also informed.
US officials earlier said the North Korean government had agreed in advance that Mr Clinton's mission would not touch on the question of its nuclear programme.
Mr Clinton was the highest-profile American to visit the reclusive Communist state since ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2000.
Families 'overjoyed'
Speaking as she arrived in Kenya at the start of a tour of Africa, Mrs Clinton welcomed the release and said she had briefly spoken to her husband.
She said the US had been "working hard" and that the women were "happy and relieved to be returning home".
But she stressed it was "a totally separate issue" from the nuclear talks and that the US would now "have to go back to the ongoing efforts to try to convince the North Koreans" to return to the talks.
"The future of our relationships with the North Koreans is really up to them," she said of Pyongyang.
She said North Korea could either "continue to follow the path that is filled with provocative action, which further isolates them from the international community, or they can decide to renew their discussions with the partners in the six-party talks".
Mrs Clinton also denied North Korean media reports that Mr Clinton had apologised for the incident involving the women. "That is not true. That did not occur," she said.
The White House earlier denied a KCNA report that Mr Clinton had conveyed a message from Mr Obama.
Pyongyang dropped out of the six-party talks after the UN censured a long-range missile test in April. The parties include Russia, China, Japan, the US and both Koreas.
An underground nuclear test and further missile tests followed, provoking new UN Security Council sanctions.
Amnesty plea
The families of the journalists said they were "overjoyed" to hear of their freedom.
"I have not slept for three days. I'm just so happy, we can't wait, we're counting minutes, counting hours," said Ms Ling's mother.
In a statement posted on a website, they thanked Mr Clinton and also former Vice-President Al Gore for their efforts to get the women released.
The two reporters were arrested by North Korean guards while filming a video about refugees for California-based internet broadcaster Current TV.
The White House had pressed for their release and Mrs Clinton last month requested that they be granted amnesty.
Analysts say that Kim Jong-il is eager to improve relations with Washington as he prepares to name a successor.
President Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke a year ago and also has chronic diabetes and heart disease. Analysts say his third son is being lined up to succeed him.
