- NEW: Jeffrey Fowle reaches his home
- North Korea's statement is a "fig leaf," former White House spokesman says
- Jeffrey Fowle was greeted by family at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio
- North Korea is still holding two other Americans
(CNN) -- After five months of detention in North Korea, Jeffrey Fowle arrived back in Ohio early Wednesday for an emotional reunion with his family.
Stepping off the plane at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and onto the tarmac, he was embraced by family members, including his wife, three children, and his brother.
"We'd like to thank God for his hand of protection over Jeff these past six months," family spokesman Tim Tepe said later when Fowle reached his home in Miamisburg.
Tepe thanked the U.S. State Department, the Swedish government, and others for helping secure Fowle's release.
While the family is "overjoyed," it is also mindful of the two other Americans still being held -- Kenneth Bae and Matthew Miller, said Tepe, a local attorney.
Fowle did not make a statement. After being asked by a reporter how he was, Fowle gave a thumbs-up.
He is "currently in good health" and was treated well by his captors in North Korea, Tepe said.
Fowle, his wife, and children ages 9, 11, and 13, then headed toward the home.
North Korea's 'Fig leaf' statement
"It's a good sign that the North Koreans released this man unconditionally," former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson told CNN's "New Day." "They usually demand a price."
Richardson has helped negotiate the release of prisoners in the past, including from North Korea.
Pyongyang's move is "a signal to the U.S. that says, 'All right, let's start talking,' " and perhaps restart nuclear negotiations, he said.
A North Korean government official told CNN that Fowle was released after leader Kim Jong Un issued a "special dispensation."
"Comrade Kim Jong Un, the First Chairman of the National Defence Commission, in deference to agreement between the Supreme Leaders of the DPRK and the US, granted a special dispensation for the American Jeffrey Edward Fowle, who was being indicted, to be released after his case had been dismissed," an emailed statement read.
Former White House spokesman Jay Carney called the statement "a fig leaf."
Kim needed to free Fowle "to try to thaw relations a little bit, and he needs to pin it on the United States," said Carney, who is now a CNN commentator.
The Obama administration, for which Carney was the spokesman, continues to "press very hard" for the release of Americans being held in North Korea, as previous administrations did, he said.
North Korea accused Fowle of leaving a Bible at a club for foreign sailors and interpreted the act as a violation of law.
Although the hermetic state contains some state-controlled churches, the totalitarian regime forbids independent religious activities, viewing them as potential threats to its authority.
So Fowle, 56, languished in detention, one of three Americans imprisoned in the country.
A U.S. government plane picked up Fowle in Pyongyang on Tuesday.
"He has been evaluated by a doctor and appears to be in good health," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
North Korea happy with Fowle's behavior 
U.S. detainees in North Korea speak 
Jeffrey Edward Fowle, one of three Americans detained in North Korea, was released and is now on his way home, a State Department official told CNN on Tuesday, October 21. Fowle was accused of leaving a Bible in a restaurant. North Korea announced Fowle's detention in June, saying he had violated the law by acting "contrary to the purpose of tourism." Fowle told CNN: "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK." 
Matthew Todd Miller, another one of the detained Americans in North Korea, began serving his six-year sentence on September 25. He spoke to CNN's Will Ripley on September 1 and implored the U.S. government for help. The 24-year-old is accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry. 
In May 2013, a North Korean court sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. North Korea claimed Bae was part of a Christian plot to overthrow the regime. In a short interview with CNN on September 1, Bae said he is working eight hours a day, six days a week at a labor camp. "Right now what I can say to my friends and family is, continue to pray for me," he said. 
American journalist Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to U.N. peacekeepers on August 24 after nearly two years in captivity. He is believed to have been captured in October 2012 and held by the al-Nusra Front, a Syrian rebel group with ties to al Qaeda. 
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. 
An Iranian court threw out a 2011 death sentence for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he was secretly retried in Iran and convicted of "practical collaboration with the U.S. government," his sister told CNN on April 11. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, she said. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother. His family and the Obama administration deny accusations he was spying for the CIA. 
This undated image provided by the U.S. Army shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held by insurgents in Afghanistan since 2009. The White House announced Bergdahl's release on May 31. Bergdahl was released in exchange for five senior Taliban members held by the U.S. military. 
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, and multiple reports suggest Levinson may have been working for the CIA. His family told CNN in January that they have long known that Levinson worked for the CIA, and they said it's time for the government to lay out the facts about Levinson's case. U.S. officials have consistently denied publicly that Levinson was working for the government, but they have repeatedly insisted that finding him and bringing him home is a "top" priority. 
Warren Weinstein, a contractor held by al Qaeda militants, is a U.S. citizen who has been held hostage in Pakistan since August 2011. 
U.S. tourist and Korean War veteran Merrill Newman arrives at the Beijing airport on December 7 after being released by North Korea. Newman was detained in October 2013 by North Korean authorities just minutes before he was to depart the country after visiting through an organized tour. His son Jeff Newman said the Palo Alto, California, man had all the proper paperwork and set up his trip through a North Korean-approved travel agency. 
Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, in May 2013, 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 a few days later and is now 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 2013. He was 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 detained at Iran's 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. 
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. 
Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April 2013 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. He was released in June 2013. 
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Photos: Americans detained abroad "We're thrilled; we're overjoyed," said Jim Shihady, assistant pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, which the Fowle family attends in Miamisburg, speaking Tuesday to CNN affiliate WHIO.
"My phone's been ringing. The texts have been coming in, and people wanting to make sure we've heard the good news."
Two still detained
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday the United States has no updates on Bae and Miller. He called on North Korea to release them immediately.
Bae, a Korean-American missionary, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2013. He told CNN he was working eight hours a day, six days a week, at a labor camp but was being treated "as humanely as possible."
Miller, accused of tearing up his tourist visa and seeking asylum upon entry, was taken into custody in April of this year. He told CNN that his situation was "very urgent" and that he would soon be sent to trial and "directly be sent to prison."
'Admitted my guilt'
Last month, Fowle spoke with CNN in a situation controlled by North Korea. He pleaded for U.S. help and described the conditions of his detention.
In the interview, he said he had "no complaints" about his treatment.
"It's been very good so far, and I hope and pray that it continues, while I'm here two more days or two more decades," he said.
North Korean officials monitored and recorded the interviews. CNN was unable to assess independently the conditions under which the men were being held.
"It's a covert act and a violation of tourists' rules," Fowle said of trying to leave the Bible. "I've admitted my guilt to the government and signed a statement to that effect and requested forgiveness from the people and the government of the DPRK."
As a prisoner of the dictatorship, he could not speak freely.
Fowle said at the time that he expected his trial to start within a month.
City will hire him back
While Fowle was detained, Miamisburg terminated his employment as a municipal worker, providing a $70,000 severance package. Officials said he had exhausted his leave.
But the city says it will hire him back.
"We wish Jeff well. We're excited to have him return," City Manager Dave Hicks told WHIO.
CNN's Elise Labott and Jethro Mullen contributed to this report.
