Bill Clinton: As an American and Father I Wanted Them to Come Home

Bill Clinton speaks on the North Korea mission today. He suggested this could be an opening for the U.S. and N. Korea. He said he had a brief conversation with Obama and a conversation with Hillary, but he hasn't been fully debriefed yet and won't comment further. Any other word about the mission will come from the White House, he said. One president at a time. He reiterated it was a humanitarian mission. He did comment on the excitement of Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

How Bill Clinton Secured Release of Journalists

Laura Ling and Euna Lee Reunion Videos

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Lisa Ling says the family is "just going to love on her." Video and video.
Obama speaks on their homecoming:
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Al Gore speaks on Laura LIng and Euna Lee's release:

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Euna Lee and Laura Ling getting off the plane:

Release of Journalists Was a Team Effort

The NY Times has a good story telling everyone's role in freeing Euna Lee and Laura Ling. It was a team effort and no egos stood in the way:

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.
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North Korea signaled its desire to have Mr. Clinton act as a special envoy in conversations with Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee, who relayed that message to their families in the middle of July, according to a senior administration official. The message was passed to Mr. Gore, who contacted the White House, which then explored whether such a mission would be successful.

Mr. Obama did not speak directly with Mr. Clinton before the mission. But his national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, contacted the former president to sound him out. The senior official said the administration did “due diligence” with the North Koreans to ensure that if Mr. Clinton went, he would return with the journalists. He also denied that Mr. Clinton apologized as a condition of obtaining the pardons from the government.

As president, Mr. Clinton had sent Mr. Kim a letter of condolence on the death of his father, Kim Il-sung, according to a former official. For Mr. Kim, the former official said, freeing the women was a “reciprocal humanitarian gesture.” Read the whole thing.

The Obama administration seems to have separated itself from Clinton's efforts so that it could get back on track with credible six party talks. Not mixing the two was brilliant if you ask me.

Lee and Ling will address the media tomorrow.

Journalists Leave North Korea With Bill Clinton Video

I bet they screamed when the doors to the plane shut.

Clinton Succeeds! Kim Jong Il Issues Pardons For Journalists

Update: Bill Clinton has left North Korea. But are the journalists with him? See the families' statement here.

I just heard the news on NPR--Kim Jong Il issues a special pardon. More to come.
Yay for Bill Clinton! Nice job Hillary. Good job Obama administration. Kudos the whole way around.

There had been some question as to whether Obama signed off on Bill Clinton's travel to North Korea. But of course. David Axelrod confirmed that the White House had signed off on the trip. Reports say that the journalists' release was prearranged.
The White House was trying to keep the humanitarian aspect--bringing Euna Lee and Laura Ling back home--separate from the diplomatic efforts of resuming six party negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programs (wapo).

The former president and his party were greeted early Tuesday at an airport in Pyongyang, the capital, by Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and by Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea's official news agency said. Kim Kye Gwan is the chief nuclear negotiator for North Korea, raising questions about whether Pyongyang hoped to use the visit to make progress on the impasse over its nuclear weapons.

Photos and televised footage showed Clinton, who is deeply respected in North Korea, smiling and chatting with a young girl who presented him with a large bouquet of flowers.
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Clinton was accompanied on the trip by John Podesta, who was his White House chief of staff, served as Obama's transition chief and is president of the Center for American Progress. Also seen in photos released by the Korean media were David Straub, former head of the Korea desk at the State Department, who is now at Stanford University; longtime Clinton aide Douglas J. Band; and Justin Cooper, who has worked with the William J. Clinton Foundation. In a sign of the significance attached to the visit in North Korea, the English-language version of the Korean Central News Agency Web site declared, "BILL CLINTON ARRIVES HERE," in extra-large type.

A spokeswoman for the Center for American Progress referred questions about who funded the trip to the State Department. News of Podesta's role came as a surprise to staffers at the center. He was believed to be on vacation in Truckee, Calif.
WaPo

Former U.S ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton argued against Clinton's trip, saying it gives North Korea an upper hand.

Bill Clinton Meets Kim Jong Il

Update: Bill succeeds!
Bill Clinton is trying to secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, Lisa Ling's sister, captured earlier this year.

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il met with former President Bill Clinton on Tuesday after he arrived in the communist nation to seek the release of two jailed U.S. journalists, state media reported.

The Korean Central News Agency reported that Clinton and Kim met in Pyongyang and that Clinton "courteously" conveyed a verbal message from President Barack Obama.

According to the report, Kim expressed his thanks and the two shared a "wide-ranging exchange of views" during their talk.

They greeted him warmly:

North Korea welcomed him with flowers and hearty handshakes Tuesday as he arrived in an unmarked jet.

Footage from television news agency APTN showed Clinton bowing and smiling as a young girl presented him with flowers.

The unusually warm exchange between officials from communist North Korea and the ex-leader of a wartime foe comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Pyongyang over the regime's nuclear program. In recent months, North Korea has abandoned a disarmament pact, launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test and test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles in defiance of the U.N. Security Council. MSNBC

A thought--Can you imagine George Bush on a diplomatic mission like this?
Robert Gibbs statement:

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says in an e-mailed statement about President Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea: "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."

Feinstein Says Hillary Best to Negotiate Release of Journalists in N. Korea

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Hillary: Seeking Journalists Release on Humanitarian Grounds

The U.S. may send Al Gore or Bill Richardson to negotiate their release. In the past, Richardson has successfully negotiated with North Korea for the release of a U.S. citizen.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee Sentenced to 12 Years in North Korea

A harsh sentence that could be shortened. Laura Ling and Euna Lee have now become pawns:

Ahmadinejad Urges Fairness in Roxana Saberi's Case

I wonder if Ahmadinejad would've made this move if George Bush was president. Hillary Clinton has been working diligently behind the scenes to free Roxana as well as Laura Ling and Euna Lee, captured in North Korea. Read about their status here.
Obama addressed journalist Roxana Saberi today at the summit. If you're on Twitter, follow FreeRoxana.

NYT: TEHRAN — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a rare effort to intervene in the justice system, urged Tehran’s chief prosecutor on Sunday to fairly examine the cases of an Iranian-American journalist and an Iranian-Canadian blogger.

The Iranian-American journalist, Roxana Saberi, has been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of spying for Washington, her lawyer reported Saturday. The other detainee is Hossein Derakhshan, a blogger who has been jailed since November without any official charges.

Mr. Ahmadinejad, who will be attending an international conference on racism on Monday and is expected to seek re-election in June, may be seeking to cast himself as a defender of human rights, analysts said. He may also be trying to prevent radical forces from sabotaging a possible reconciliation between Iran and the United States.
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In Mr. Ahmadinejad’s letter, he urged Tehran’s prosecutor general, Saeed Mortazavi, to examine the cases fairly, the official IRNA news agency reported. Although the court’s workings are secret, Mr. Mortazavi, known as a hard-line conservative, would be the one to at least oversee the prosecution of both cases.

The letter was written by the president’s chief of staff, Abdolreza Sheikholeslami, on behalf of the president, who left Tehran for Geneva on Sunday to attend the United Nations conference on racism.

“At the president’s insistence, you must do what is needed to secure justice and fairness in examining these charges,” the letter said, IRNA reported. “Take care that the defendants have all the legal freedoms and rights to defend themselves against the charges and none of their rights are violated.” NYT

The Swiss president has also talked to Ahmadenijad:

Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz raised the issue of jailed US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here Sunday, his ministry said.

Swiss authorities said in a statement that “various unresolved cases of consular protection were discussed, including the sentencing of the American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi.”

Switzerland has been representing US interests in Iran since 1980, after Tehran and Washington broke off diplomatic relations.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee to Be Tried in North Korea

Journalists Laura Ling, sister of Lisa Ling, and Euna Lee were captured earlier this month. Read about that here. North Korea accused them of illegal entry and hostile acts.

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Journalist Lisa Ling's Sister Captured in North Korea

Update Aug. 5 Reunion videos and Obama speaks
Update Aug. 4: Bill Clinton succeeds in freeing the journalists.

Update 3-30: Ling and Lee to be tried. Read about that here.

Lisa Ling making calls for Obama during campaign
Laura Ling, a journalist and sis of Lisa Ling, Oprah's world correspondent and journalist for National Geographic, was detained with fellow reporter Euna Lee in N. Korea. Hillary is on the case.

Jakarta Post: Tales about life on the run from repressive North Korea - women who end up at the mercy of human traffickers, children who grow up in hiding - drew the team of American reporters to the Chinese-North Korean border.

"Spent the day interviewing young N. Koreans who escaped their country. Too many sad stories," journalist Laura Ling of the San Francisco-based online news outlet Current TV wrote on her Twitter page.

But their quest to document the plight of North Korean refugees may have put them in danger. Ling and fellow reporter Euna Lee were still missing Saturday, four days after they reportedly were seized by North Korean soldiers along the border.

A third member of the crew, cameraman Mitch Koss, and a guide eluded capture but were being held in China, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Friday. Their whereabouts were unclear.

Washington is in contact with North Korea about the two detained journalists, State Department officials said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "is engaged on this matter right now," spokesman Robert A. Wood told reporters Friday. "There is a lot of diplomacy going on. There have been a number of contacts made." Read more

Hillary's spokesman Robert Wood talks about the capture as part of his daily briefing:

QUESTION: The journalists – do you know where they are? Any update on what’s happening?
MR. WOOD: No, Jill. What I can tell you is that we are working diplomatically to try to resolve this issue. Secretary Clinton is engaged on this matter right now. Our view, given the circumstances, is that the less we say about this publicly, the better for those parties concerned. It’s a sensitive matter right now. And I just, for right now, would like to leave it there. We will, of course, once we have much more in the way of details that we can provide we will certainly make them available. But right now for the sake of this particular case, I’d like to leave my comments where they are.
QUESTION: Robert, did Al Gore contact the Secretary about how to help?
MR. WOOD: I would just like to keep my comments where they are, Desmond. I don’t really want to go beyond that. What I will say is that there is a lot of diplomacy going on. There have been a number of contacts made. But the less said about this issue right now, we think, is best.
QUESTION: You cannot even confirm direct contacts between the U.S. and North Korea, say, through the New York channel?
MR. WOOD: I just – I don’t want to go further than what I said.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) the circumstances? You said – yesterday you were a little nebulous about it.
MR. WOOD: We’re still, again, in that process as well of gathering more information about the facts, so --
QUESTION: When you say the Secretary is directly engaged, what – in what sense?
MR. WOOD: As I said, she’s directly engaged. I don’t want to go beyond that at this point.
Lambros. DOS