Nahmyo Thomas
Newswire21.org

Bill Clinton success in winning the release of two American journalists in North Korea reopens a channel in talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

The Korean Central News Agency said the two women were pardoned from a 12-year prison sentence as part of the country's "humanitarian and peace-loving policy."

The announcement came hours after the former US president met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il to discuss the release of the women. Within hours, Clinton boarded a plane with the women and flew back to Los Angeles.

Clinton was courteously greeted at the Pyongyang airport by North Korean officials and later met with Kim for a private dinner at his state guest house. 

Korean news agencies said it was believed Clinton came to deliver a verbal message from President Obama, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that was "untrue" and the State Department played down that notion. 

"Our interest here is the successful completion of the mission and the safe return of the journalists," said aides to US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor after allegedly crossing the Chinese border and entering the country illegally in March. At the time, analysts suggested the sentences were so harsh that they were likely bargaining chips in North Korea's standoff with the US. 

If Clinton flies out with both Ling and Lee, the door to further discussion may be open.  President Obama said during the 2008 campaign he was open to holding new talks with North Korea.

After North Korea launched a second nuclear test in Pyongyang on May 25, the United Nations imposed sanctions on the country with US support. That intensified relations between the US and communist North Korean regime, making talks more difficult.

Diplomatic Precedent
Clinton's  mission now marks the second time a former US president has visited North Korea in attempts to defuse a crisis. In 1994, former President Jimmy Carter visited Pyongyang under during Clinton's first term amid high tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.

Jasper Becker, publisher of Asia Weekly magazine, told Al Jazeera news that Clinton's trip to North Korea was "a great triumph for Kim," who is in poor health. "Kim Jong-Il is quite desperate to achieve a breakthrough in relations with the US," he said.

Richard Broinowski, former Australian ambassador to South Korea, told reporters "things have been spinning out of control in North Korea" and suggested Clinton's visit may work as a "circuit-breaker" to open the way to more talks.