A young North Korean girl with a red scarf tied around her neck handed Carter flowers and saluted him after he landed at the Pyongyang airport in an unmarked plane, footage aired by TV news agency APTN showed. Carter blew her a kiss before getting into a black stretch Mercedes-Benz, according to APTN.

The rare journey to win the release of 31-year-old Aijalon Gomes of Boston comes a year after another ex-US president, Bill Clinton, traveled to North Korea on a private mission to bring home two American journalists also sentenced to prison for sneaking into the country illegally. A fourth American was set free earlier this year after 40 days in custody.

As with Clinton’s visit, reclusive North Korea is expected to portray Carter’s trip — coming at a time of heightened tensions over its nuclear ambitions and the March sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang — as a diplomatic victory.

It was unclear whether Carter’s trip would include a visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, but the statesman shared a warm handshake with the regime’s No. 2 official, Kim Yong Nam, before they sat down for talks Wednesday, APTN said.

Top North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan and No. 2 nuclear official Ri Gun were among officials on hand to welcome Carter, according to APTN.

North Korea had agreed to release Gomes, who was believed to be in ailing health, to Carter if the ex-president paid a visit, a senior US official  said in Washington. Carter was expected to spend one night in North Korea and return home with Gomes on Thursday, a second US official said.