By It is official now that Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been released by North Korea with former President Bill Clinton’s trip to Pyongyang:
This photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (Front R) posing with former US President Bill Clinton (Front L) and his delegation members in Pyongyang. North Korea will pardon and release two US journalists after Bill Clinton apologised to leader Kim Jong-Il for their behaviour, state media reported. (AFP/KCNA/KNS)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il issued a “special pardon” for two American journalists and ordered their release at former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s request, North Korean media reported Wednesday.The move to release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor, reflected North Korea‘s “humanitarian and peaceloving policy,” the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch from Pyongyang early Wednesday.
Clinton landed in the North Korean capital on Tuesday on a quiet mission to negotiate the freedom of the two women working for former Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV media venture. During his visit, he held rare talks with Kim — the reclusive North Korean leader’s first meeting with a prominent Western figure since reportedly suffering a stroke a year ago.
The KNCA report said Clinton visit was ending Wednesday but left unclear if he had yet left.
Lee, 36, and Ling, 32, were arrested in March after crossing into North Korea from China, where they had been reporting on North Korean defectors. They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegal entry and engaging in “hostile acts.”
Washington had pushed for their release, with Clinton’s wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, requesting they be granted amnesty.
State media said Clinton apologized on behalf of the women and relayed President Barack Obama‘s gratitude. The report said the visit would “contribute to deepening the understanding” between North Korea and the U.S. [Associated Press]
Let me just make a special note of giving props to ROK Drop commenter Spelunker who nearly called the exact day the two journalists would be released. Also take a look at the picture from the Chinese version of Yonhap that Spelunker turned up that may show why Kim Jong-il was so happy to see Bill Clinton. By the way its a joke.
John Kerry so wanted to be in this photograph.
Yahoo has a whole gallery of pictures from the visit and of Euna Lee and Laura Ling for those interested. I do have to say that Kim Jong-il got a much needed make over before meeting Bill Clinton because he is definitely looking more healthy compared to other recent photographs of him.
So I guess the next obvious question for everyone is what is next for North Korea? Obviously the Obama administration offered up something to get Kim Jong-il to agree to release the journalists. I’m still betting on some mega-deal Agreed Framework 3.0 that everyone will once again claim that peace in our time is upon us. Joshua over at One Free Korea is probably right on how this will all turn out. I have said this over and over again North Korea is not going to give up their nuclear weapons and Bill Clinton going to Pyongyang isn’t going to change that.
I still think Michael Jackson’s offer to go to North Korea or Kobe Bryant would have been a whole lot more interesting to cover than this though.
11:08 am on August 4th, 2009 1
The Obama administration has been very careful to separate the situation with these journalists from any foreign relations or policy disputes with the NKs.
"Clinton apologized on behalf of the women"
When American GIs commit crimes in countries around the world, it is standard procedure for a senior official of the military or State Department to visit senior leaders of that country and apologize. It's not negotiating or making concessions. It's just the protocol for these things.
I don't see any difference here.
2:12 pm on August 4th, 2009 2
Congratulations. Us suckers (U.S. suckers) just gave Dear Leader exactly what he wanted, yet again. And sending a Clinton to do it. EPIC FAIL. Three cheers all around, the mighty US just crawled under the Dear Leaders table to kiss the, er, hem of his hanhok.
/I'm glad the women are free but dammit…
//Of course it's not like Clinton was risking losing credibility or integrity. He has none or either. The perfect man for these types of jobs. Hell, go ahead and send him to Iran to pick of those tourists.
2:48 pm on August 4th, 2009 3
Well, I doubt Al Gore paying a visit to KJI would have sufficed to secure their release.
Besides, a visit by Bill Clinton is probably not a huge victory for KJI. We know Clinton went to North Korea because they were holding Americans hostage. I'm not even sure it will be a huge propaganda victory domestically for North Korea. Don't forget, the North Korean press has called him every name in the book ever since their government broke the agreement Clinton signed with them in 1994. The North Korean public is probably wondering right now why KJI is so happy to meet Clinton if he's such a bad guy.
11:50 pm on August 4th, 2009 4
[...] Update: ROK Drop has the scoop! The journalists have been freed. This is certainly good news. I am very curious to hear their story, from the trial (which I have never seen any anecdotes of), to the prison itself to their side of the story on how they were captured. [...]
11:09 pm on August 4th, 2009 5
That is why he was the right guy for the North Koreans to have the US send. The average Kim knows who Clinton is due to the excessive propaganda about him. Sending John Kerry or Al Gore would not resonate as much with the average North Korean because they don't know who those people are more than likely.
The North Korean propaganda will play this off as the evil Americans sending their former President to grovel at the feet of Kim Jong-il to apologize for the covert spy mission they launched on the North Korean people.
4:02 am on August 5th, 2009 6
"The North Korean propaganda will play this off as the evil Americans sending their former President to grovel at the feet of Kim Jong-il to apologize for the covert spy mission they launched on the North Korean people."
Maybe so. The North Korea has always set the bar pretty low for itself in its propaganda. Ever heard about how its proudest technological achievement was a tractor North Korean mechanics reverse engineering from a 1940's Soviet tractor? Yes, the Kim dynasty is an effete one indeed.
4:04 am on August 5th, 2009 7
"Of course it’s not like Clinton was risking losing credibility or integrity. He has none or either."
Right, so why didn't they send Bush?
3:22 pm on August 5th, 2009 8
Bill Clinton=useful idiot.
6:31 pm on August 5th, 2009 9
Not to shit in anyone's cornflakes, but as of right now the North Koreans haven't said anything bad about Clinton. They also haven't said anything bad about the US in the past few days.
A quote from the KCNA:
"Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries."
and also
"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."
I was absolutely stunned to read that instead their normal references to "Imperialist Agressors" and "Puppetmasters". Maybe in time they will turn this into some juicy propaganda, but for now they seem very restrained.
also, I've always accessed the KCNA website (kcna.co.jp), which is blocked in South Korea, through the website proxify.com, but I recently found out that in South Korea it is not blocked on US Government NIPRNET computers. Check it out at work and give your fellow soldiers a good laugh!
11:20 pm on August 5th, 2009 10
You are reading what is being put out on KCNA which is not the same as what is put out domestically in North Korea.
12:16 am on August 6th, 2009 11
Mr. Bush was busy in Andong. Don't you read the rokdrop? http://www.rokdrop.com
1:38 am on November 4th, 2009 12
[...] Update: ROK Drop has the scoop! The journalists have been freed. This is certainly good news. I am very curious to hear their story, from the trial (which I have never seen any anecdotes of), to the prison itself to their side of the story on how they were captured. [...]
3:17 pm on May 16th, 2010 13
Perhaps the oddest part of North Korean captivity: Sunday evenings, when 10 minutes of “Tom and Jerry” cartoons would come on her guards’ TV. Allowing her to watch with them, they would shout, “Miss Laura! Tom and Jerry!”
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/requir…
12:18 pm on May 18th, 2010 14
Laura and Lisa Ling on the Oprah show.
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Laura-Lings-North-…