The State Department is considering sending a high-level public figure to North Korea to facilitate the release of a Boston man who is being held there and may be in severely poor health, according to multiple sources close to the discussions.
Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a 30-year-old man from Boston, was sentenced to 8 years in prison in April, about three months after he was arrested crossing into North Korea via China. In July, North Korea's official media organ reported that Gomes had tried to commit suicide. Earlier this month, the State Department secretly sent a four-man team to Pyongyang to visit Gomes, but was unable to secure his release.
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