SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Looking gaunt but relieved, an American freed after nearly seven months jailed in North Korea left Pyongyang on Friday in the company of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Aijalon Gomes, 31, hugged Carter just before they boarded a plane at Pyongyang's airport, footage aired by broadcaster APTN in North Korea showed.

Carter had flown to the North Korean capital three days earlier on a rare private mission to negotiate Gomes' release.

The former president "courteously requested" a special pardon for Gomes, which leader Kim Jong Il granted, North Korean state media said. Gomes had been sentenced in April to eight years of hard labor and a hefty fine for trespassing and committing a "hostile act."

They were due to arrive in Boston today to be reunited with Gomes' mother and other family members, Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo said in Atlanta.

We "are relieved that he will soon be safely reunited with his family," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "We appreciate former President Carter's humanitarian effort and welcome North Korea's decision to grant Mr. Gomes special amnesty and allow him to return to the United States."

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Carter's visit included cordial talks with North Korea's No. 2 official, Kim Yong Nam.

Kim relayed Pyongyang's interest in resuming the six-nation disarmament talks and reiterated the regime's commitment to denuclearization, KCNA said.

However, there was no indication that Carter met with Kim Jong Il, who was making a surprise trip to China during the rare visit by an American dignitary to the North Korean capital.

A year ago, Kim sat down for talks and a well-publicized photo with former U.S. President Bill Clinton when he went to Pyongyang on a similar journey to negotiate the release of two American journalists.

The U.S. and North Korea fought on opposite sides of the 1950-53 Korean War and do not have diplomatic relations, but Carter is well-regarded in North Korea after making a groundbreaking trip to Pyongyang in 1994 to meet with Kim's father, late President Kim Il Sung. Those friendly talks led to a landmark nuclear disarmament pact.