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Bill Clinton in North Korea to discuss U.S. journalists
By Jack Kim
SEOUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea on Tuesday to try to negotiate the release of two U.S. journalists convicted by the communist state of "grave crimes," South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.
The visit comes at a time of increasing militancy in the reclusive North which analysts say is in the midst of resolving leadership succession in Asia's only dynastic state as it refuses to return to multilateral talks on ending its nuclear ambitions.
North Korea's KCNA news agency confirmed the visit and said Clinton was greeted by the vice president of the North's rubber-stamp assembly and its chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan, a vice foreign minister.
The U.S. journalists were sentenced last month to 12 years' hard labour by the North after they were arrested at the border with China in March accused of illegal entry and being "bent on slander."
Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, were arrested when working on a story near the border between North Korea and China.
U.S. officials fear that North Korea might try to use the journalists as leverage in trying to resist international pressure to halt its arms program and weather U.N. sanctions over its missile and nuclear tests.
Some analysts have held out hope that Clinton's visit could end a cycle of provocative military action and lead to Pyongyang's return to fresh dialogue.
The North has declared dead long-troubled six-party talks aimed at reining in its nuclear arms program with massive aid and diplomatic rewards but has made overtures in recent weeks seeking direct negotiations with Washington.
"As soon as he arrives, he will be entering negotiations with the North for the release of the female journalists," Yonhap quoted a source as saying about Clinton's trip.
South Korean Foreign Ministry officials declined to comment, saying any announcement would come from Washington or Pyongyang.
"We decline comment," White House spokesman Thomas Vietor said when asked about the report. The U.S. State Department also declined to comment.
Clinton while in office sought to improve ties with the North, exchanging high-level envoys near the end of his term that fuelled expectations that Washington and Pyongyang would end decades of hostility and normalise ties.
Clinton's Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, visited Pyongyang in 2000 and held talks with the North's supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, soon after his right-hand man and senior General Jo Myong-rok visited Washington.
The rapid improvement in ties was short lived as George W. Bush became U.S. president and declared the North part of an "axis of evil" along with Iran and Iraq.
Kim Jong-il and his father and state founder Kim Il-sung have previously used visits by high-level U.S. envoys to make the gesture of starting dialogue with Washington, said Yun Duk-min of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul.
"North Korea could come forward with the position that it would implement the September 19 (nuclear disarmament) statement and eventually enter nuclear talks with the United States," he said.
Journalist Ling has told her sister by telephone that she and Lee broke North Korea's law. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, has said "everyone is very sorry" about the incident and urged Pyongyang to grant them amnesty.
North Korea has also held a South Korean worker ...

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(CNN)  -- North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned and released two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said Wednesday.
President Clinton met Tuesday with North Korea leader Kim Jong Il.

The announcement came after former U.S. President Clinton met with top North Korean officials in Pyongyang to appeal for their release.

"Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it," the news agency reported. "Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.

"The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them."

The report said Clinton then conveyed a message from U.S. President Obama "expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries."

It added, "The measure taken to release the American journalists is a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peace-loving policy.

"The DPRK visit of Clinton and his party will contribute to deepening the understanding between the DPRK and the U.S. and building the bilateral confidence."

DPRK is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nation's official name.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV, a media venture launched by Clinton's Vice President Al Gore, have been held since March.

Lee and Ling were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign.

Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea, efforts to resolve the issue have been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the reclusive communist state. Video Watch what may lie behind the pick of Bill Clinton »