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Clinton, U.S. journalists leave North Korea after pardon
Wed Aug 5, 2009 2:31am EDT
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By Jonathan Thatcher
SEOUL (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Bill Clinton left North Korea on Wednesday with two American journalists, having secured their release in a meeting with the hermit state's leader who a U.S. official said was not promised any rewards.
The official said Clinton talked to North Korea's leadership about the "positive things that could flow" from freeing Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been held since March.
The Obama administration official did not provide specifics although some analysts have speculated that Clinton's trip -- which included a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il -- could possibly open the way to direct nuclear disarmament talks.
Analysts said Washington faced a tricky task of trying to convince North Korea to give up dreams of becoming a nuclear weapons power without being seen to reward it for repeated military acts or ignoring the demands of others in the region.
"President Clinton had made clear that this was a purely private humanitarian mission," the U.S. official told reporters in Washington after Kim granted the journalists a pardon and allowed them to leave with Clinton and fly to Los Angeles.
North Korea had agreed in advance that Clinton's trip would not be linked to the nuclear issue, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official said North Korea would face deeper isolation if it continued "provocative behavior" that has included nuclear and missile tests. Washington would maintain efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea over its May 25 nuclear test, the official added.
The two journalists, who work for Current TV, an American TV outlet co-founded by Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, were arrested for illegally crossing into the North from China.
They were each sentenced to 12 years hard labor in June.
Television footage showed the two journalists wearing green and red shirts and carrying luggage, greeted by Clinton as they boarded a plane. Clinton put his hand over his heart and then gave a final salute to North Korean officials at the airport.
WHAT WAS DISCUSSED?
Financial markets in Tokyo and Seoul largely ignored the visit, although some South Korean traders said it did add a more positive atmosphere to what has been a string of negative reports over the North in recent months.
There were questions about what Clinton had discussed with Kim beyond the fate of the reporters and what North Korea might expect in return. The U.S. official said Clinton likely expressed his view on North Korean denuclearization in talks with Kim.
In North Korean media photographs of the meeting, Kim was smiling and looked in reasonable health after speculation he was seriously ill. Kim was suspected of suffering a stroke last year.
"Regardless of what the U.S. administration says, the Clinton and Kim meeting signals the start of direct bargaining ... It's a matter of time when U.S.-North bilateral talks begin," South Korea's Chosun Ilbo daily said in an editorial. Continued...
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