An American man recently sentenced by North Korea to six years of hard labour says he is digging in fields eight hours a day and being kept in isolation, but that so far his health is not deteriorating.

An American held captive for seven months in North Korea stepped off a plane in his home town today, looking thin but joyful as he hugged the former president who had helped win his release and family and friends surrounded him in a group embrace.

An American who was jailed for illegally crossing the border into North Korea was released after a visit to the Communist country by former US President Jimmy Carter.