Full Version: Obama sends Bill Clinton to North Korea to discuss
| QUOTE |
 Bill Clinton arrived in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on Tuesday in an attempt to obtain the release of two American journalists imprisoned within the country. Clinton traveled in an unmarked plane in an attempt to keep the mission low-key. For now, the details of this mission are being kept confidential by the White House so as not to derail any possible success. In March, the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were caught by North Korean authorities and accused of sneaking into North Korea illegally. They were found guilty by a North Korean court of “grave crimes” and “slander” against the country and in June they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. Both journalists work for Current TV, a media company which was co-founded by former Vice-President Al Gore. The Obama administration has been attempting to have North Korea grant amnesty, a forgiveness of their actions, and release them. Although the White House confirmed that Clinton was in North Korea, it would not comment on the specifics of Clinton’s mission. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stated, "While this solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans is on the ground, we will have no comment. We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission." Clinton was most likely selected due to his administration’s successful negotiations with North Korea to free captive Americans. It was also during Clinton’s administration in 1994 that under Kim Jong Il’s father, Kim Il Sung, North Korea agreed to suspend its plan to develop nuclear research, an agreement which Kim Jong Il later discarded in 2003. http://www.examiner.com/x-11326-Liberal-Ex...-of-journalists |
Sure is nice to see Bill out there doing good things again.
Report: N. Korea pardons U.S. journalists
Announcement comes after Bill Clinton meets with Kim Jong Il
Breaking news
msnbc.com news services
updated 8 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has pardoned two jailed American journalists following an unannounced meeting with former President Bill Clinton, media reports said Tuesday.
Clinton met earlier Tuesday with Kim after arriving in Pyongyang on a surprise visit, holding "exhaustive" talks that covered a wide range of topics, state-run media said.
Clinton traveled to communist North Korea on a mission to try to secure the release of Americans Euna Lee, 36, and Laura Ling, 32, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV media venture who were arrested along the Chinese-North Korean border in March and sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor for illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts."
Clinton's landmark visit, which was not announced in advance by North Korea or the U.S., comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, foes during the Korean War of the 1950s, over the regime's nuclear program.
North Korea in recent months has conducted a nuclear test and test-fired an array of ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with Washington leading the push to punish Pyongyang for its defiance.
It's only the second visit to Pyongyang by a former U.S. leader. Jimmy Carter traveled to North Korea for talks with Kim's father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994 in a groundbreaking meeting during a time of similar tensions.
Clinton's meeting with Kim would be the notoriously reclusive North Korean leader's first with a prominent Western
figure since Kim reportedly suffered a stroke a year ago, sparking questions about the future of the nation he controls with absolute authority.
Though Clinton was in North Korea on a private basis, his visit was treated by North Korea as a high-profile visit, with senior officials — including Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister who serves as the country's chief nuclear negotiator — meeting him on the tarmac.
Handshakes and flowers
Footage from the APTN television news agency showed the arriving Clinton exchanging warm handshakes with the officials and accepting a bouquet of flowers from a schoolgirl.
Kim later hosted a banquet for Clinton at the state guesthouse, Radio Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported.
"This is a very potentially rewarding trip. Not only is it likely to resolve the case of the two American journalists detained in North Korea for many months, but it could be a very significant opening and breaking this downward cycle of tension and recrimination between the U.S. and North Korea," Mike Chinoy, author of "Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis," said in Beijing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32277010/ns/wo...ic?ocid=twitter
Announcement comes after Bill Clinton meets with Kim Jong Il
Breaking news
msnbc.com news services
updated 8 minutes ago
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has pardoned two jailed American journalists following an unannounced meeting with former President Bill Clinton, media reports said Tuesday.
Clinton met earlier Tuesday with Kim after arriving in Pyongyang on a surprise visit, holding "exhaustive" talks that covered a wide range of topics, state-run media said.
Clinton traveled to communist North Korea on a mission to try to secure the release of Americans Euna Lee, 36, and Laura Ling, 32, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV media venture who were arrested along the Chinese-North Korean border in March and sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor for illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts."
Clinton's landmark visit, which was not announced in advance by North Korea or the U.S., comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, foes during the Korean War of the 1950s, over the regime's nuclear program.
North Korea in recent months has conducted a nuclear test and test-fired an array of ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, with Washington leading the push to punish Pyongyang for its defiance.
It's only the second visit to Pyongyang by a former U.S. leader. Jimmy Carter traveled to North Korea for talks with Kim's father, Kim Il Sung, in 1994 in a groundbreaking meeting during a time of similar tensions.
Clinton's meeting with Kim would be the notoriously reclusive North Korean leader's first with a prominent Western
figure since Kim reportedly suffered a stroke a year ago, sparking questions about the future of the nation he controls with absolute authority.
Though Clinton was in North Korea on a private basis, his visit was treated by North Korea as a high-profile visit, with senior officials — including Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister who serves as the country's chief nuclear negotiator — meeting him on the tarmac.
Handshakes and flowers
Footage from the APTN television news agency showed the arriving Clinton exchanging warm handshakes with the officials and accepting a bouquet of flowers from a schoolgirl.
Kim later hosted a banquet for Clinton at the state guesthouse, Radio Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported.
"This is a very potentially rewarding trip. Not only is it likely to resolve the case of the two American journalists detained in North Korea for many months, but it could be a very significant opening and breaking this downward cycle of tension and recrimination between the U.S. and North Korea," Mike Chinoy, author of "Meltdown: The Inside Story of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis," said in Beijing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32277010/ns/wo...ic?ocid=twitter
Good job, Bill. He has so much natural charisma. I saw him getting off the plane and I wished for a moment he was still President. 