In Release of Journalists, Both Clintons Had Key Roles NYT's - Laura Ling

[otohara]

WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton left North Korea on Wednesday morning after a dramatic 20-hour visit, in which he won the freedom of two American journalists, opened a diplomatic channel to North Korea’s reclusive government and dined with the North’s ailing leader, Kim Jong-il.

Mr. Clinton departed from Pyongyang, the capital, around 8:30 a.m. local time, along with the journalists, Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, on a private jet bound for Los Angeles, according to a statement from the former president’s office.

The North Korean government, which in June sentenced the women to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering North Korean territory, announced hours earlier that it had pardoned the women after Mr. Clinton apologized to Mr. Kim for their actions, according to the North Korean state media.

President Obama contacted the families of the women on Tuesday evening, according to administration officials, but the White House said it would withhold public comment until the former president landed on American soil.

Mr. Clinton’s mission to Pyongyang was the most visible by an American in nearly a decade. It came at a time when the United States’ relationship with North Korea had become especially chilled, after North Korea’s test of its second nuclear device in May and a series of missile launchings.

It ended a harrowing ordeal for the two women, who were stopped on March 17 by soldiers near North Korea’s border with China while researching a report about women and human trafficking. They faced years of imprisonment in the gulaglike confines of a North Korean prison camp.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/world/asia/05korea.html?_r=0

[Lucinda]

1. Thank you!

[Cha]

2. Thank you, otohara~ Here's another tweet pic from back then

Philly4Hillary ??@Philly4Hillary
Here's the "Democratic whore's"' husband with Paul Song's sister in law, after he got her out of a S Korean prison.
4:49 PM - 13 Apr 2016 · Philadelphia, PA, United States
237 237 Retweets 216 216 likes

https://theobamadiary.com/2016/04/13/todays-white-house-science-fair/#comments

Mrs. Clinton was deeply involved in the case, too. She proposed sending various people to Pyongyang — including Mr. Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore — to lobby for the release of the women, before Mr. Clinton emerged as the preferred choice of the North Koreans, people briefed on the talks said.

About 10 days ago, these people said, Mr. Gore, who co-founded Current TV, the San Francisco-based media company that employs Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee, called Mr. Clinton to ask him to undertake the trip. Mr. Clinton agreed, as long as the Obama administration did not object.

[otohara]

6. I Thanked Laura Ling on Twitter

and she like my tweet!

Sweet

[still_one]

3. Typical convient memories by some who forgot what happened.

[betsuni]

4. K&R

[DesertRat]

5. I wonder what Lisa Ling thinks of her husband's comments? nt