- NEW: "It's been a great homecoming," Merrill Newman says upon arrival in San Francisco
- Video shows Newman smiling as he walks through Beijing's airport
- The 85-year-old was detained in North Korea in October, issued a public apology
- State news reports Newman was released for "humanitarian" reasons
(CNN) -- Merrill Newman -- the 85-year-old American detained by North Korean authorities earlier this fall -- returned Saturday to the United States, arriving at San Francisco International Airport.
"It's been a great homecoming," said Newman, who was wearing a blue sport coat and khakis. He thanked the U.S. and Swedish diplomats who had helped secure his release, then told reporters, "I'm tired ... ready to be with my family now. Thank you all for the support we got, very much appreciated."
With that, accompanied by his wife, Lee, and son, Jeff, he walked off.
Hours earlier, in the airport in Beijing, video showed him smiling as he walked past a cavalcade of reporters. He felt good, he said, and was looking forward to seeing his wife
"I'm very glad to be on my way home," Newman said. "And I appreciate the tolerance the DPRK government has given to me to be on my way."
The communist country "deported" the veteran of the Korean War, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported early Saturday. The move coincided with a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden to South Korea, where he laid a wreath in honor of those who died in the war that pitted North against South.
A senior administration official said that Newman's release was the result of direct contact between Washington and Pyongyang. The official said the North Koreans had told the Obama administration in a telephone call that they were releasing Newman; no explanation was offered.
U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport Saturday, December 7, after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained October 26 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman says the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency. 
An Iranian court threw out a death penalty conviction last year for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he still remains in solitary confinement at Iran's notorious Evin Prison. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother; his family and the Obama administration deny accusations that he was spying for the CIA. 
A North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. Those alleged acts were not detailed by the country's state-run news agency when it announced the sentence Thursday, May 2. Bae, here in a photo from a Facebook page titled Remember Ken Bae, was arrested in November. "This was somebody who was a tour operator, who has been there in the past and has a visa to go to the North," a senior U.S. official told CNN. 
Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, on May 22, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released on Friday, May 31 and is back in the United States. 
Saeed Abedini, a 33-year-old U.S. citizen of Iranian birth, was sentenced to eight years in prison in January, accused of attempting to undermine the Iranian government and endangering national security by establishing home churches. 
North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her right, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton. 
Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner. 
Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month after he was detained in April 2011. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues. 
Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010 without any apparent U.S. intervention. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul. 
Josh Fattal, center, Sarah Shourd, left, and Shane Bauer were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted. 
Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was also detained at Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security. 
Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has been in Cuban custody since December 2009, when he was jailed while working as a subcontractor. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf, but they were unable to secure his release. 
Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial. 
Freelance reporter James Foley went missing in November after his car was stopped by gunmen in Syria. He is likely being held by the Syrian government, according to the GlobalPost, an online international news outlet to which he contributed, and Foley's brother. 
Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country. 
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared. It's believed Levinson, now 64, is being held captive somewhere in southwest Asia. 
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Americans detained abroad 
85-year-old freed from North Korea 
N. Korea says detained American apologizes In Palo Alto, California, Newman's neighbors tied yellow ribbons around objects to welcome him back.
"We are absolutely delighted to confirm that Merrill Newman is on his way home after being released by the DPRK," said Jeff Newman, Merrill's son.
"This has been a very difficult ordeal for us as a family and particularly for him," said his son.
The KCNA report stated that investigators had determined that "Newman entered the DPRK with a wrong understanding of it and perpetrated a hostile act against it."
"Taking into consideration his admittance of the act committed by him on the basis of his wrong understanding (and the) apology made by him for it, his sincere repentance of it and his advanced age and health condition, the above-said institution deported him from the country from a humanitarian viewpoint," the official North Korean report said.
Focus now on Kenneth Bae
Jeff Newman also called for the release of Kenneth Bae, another American being held in North Korea.
The State Department repeated its call for the DPRK to pardon Bae and release him, too. The senior administration official said the United States is now paying full-time attention to securing Bae's release.
Bae's family said it was pleased to learn of Newman's release.
"We have been praying for him and are very happy that his family will have him at the head of their table for the holidays. We believe that our Kenneth should also come home soon. We are thankful for all who are advocating on Kenneth's behalf and for any ongoing dialogue with the DPRK government. We have faith in our government to bring Kenneth home, and we dearly wish that we will also have joyful holidays with Kenneth," the family said in a statement.
Biden told reporters in South Korea that he had "played no direct role" in the release. He added that his office had offered to let Newman fly home with him on Air Force Two, but State Department officials said he'd take a direct commercial flight to San Francisco.
"It's a positive thing they've done," said the vice president, who spoke Saturday morning by phone with Newman. "But they still have Mr. Bae, who has no reason being held in the North (and) should be released immediately."
"While the release of Merrill Newman is welcome news indeed, he never should have been detained in the first place," said former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who has undertaken private diplomatic efforts with North Korea. "The North Koreans should also release Kenneth Bae as a humanitarian gesture."
U.S. 'deeply concerned' about citizens held in North Korea
Old resentments
Newman had traveled in October as a tourist to North Korea on a 10-day organized private tour of North Korea. Phone calls and postcards he sent indicated that the trip was going well and gave no indication of a problem, Jeff Newman said.
The day before Newman was to leave, "one or two Korean authorities" met with him and his tour guide, the son added. They talked about Newman's service record, which left "my dad ... a bit bothered," he said.
Then, just minutes before his Beijing-bound plane was set to depart Pyongyang in late October, Newman was taken off the aircraft by North Korean authorities.
For weeks, the Pyongyang government offered no explanation as to why they were holding Newman.
An explanation came a few days ago, when state media published and broadcast what they described as the Korean War veteran's "apology." The word was written atop the first of four handwritten pages detailing his alleged indiscretions.
In the note -- which was dated November 9 -- Newman talked about his having advised the Kuwol Unit, part of the "intelligence bureau" fighting against Pyongyang during the Korean War. He detailed how he commanded troops to collect "information" and wage deadly attacks.
"After I killed so many civilians and (North Korean) soldiers and destroyed strategic objects in the DPRK during the Korean War, I committed indelible offensive acts against the DPRK government and Korean people," Newman said, according to that KCNA report.
The reported message also touched on his return 60 years later to North Korea, saying that he "shamelessly ... had a plan to meet any surviving soldiers and pray for the souls of the dead soldiers."
His statement ended: "If I go back to (the) USA, I will tell the true features of the DPRK and the life the Korean people are leading."
Photos show scale of North Korea's repressive prison camps
"Hostile acts"
This public apology was "highly scripted political theater," said University of California, Berkeley, professor Steve Weber. Some feared Newman could face harsh treatment.
Bae was arrested in November 2012 and sentenced last May to 15 years of hard labor after North Korea's government found him guilty of "hostile acts" and attempts to topple the government.
Pyongyang is regarded by many as one of the world's most repressive states, with its insularity, system of cruel detention camps for political prisoners and sharp restrictions on speech and other freedoms.
Its isolation is exacerbated by widespread concern over its nuclear program. The East Asian nation's reported quest to create a nuclear weapon, as well as its resistance to international monitoring of its activities, have resulted in economic sanctions, compounding its difficulties in getting enough energy and food for its people.
Merrill's release may serve to relax tensions with the United States.
But above all, it will please his wife, who last month told CNN, "We need to have Merrill back at the head of the table for the holidays."
CNN's Tom Watkins, Jill Dougherty, Elise Labott and Joseph Netto contributed to this report.
