Clinton "courteously conveyed a verbal message" to Kim from
President Obama, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency
(KCNA) reported. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that
Clinton was carrying any message from the Obama administration.
Kim and Clinton had "an exhaustive conversation" that included "a
wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern," KCNA
reported.
Earlier in the day, Gibbs confirmed Clinton was on a
"solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans," but
gave little detail on his itinerary .
"We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission," Gibbs said.
KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line
dispatch. However a source with detailed knowledge of Clinton's
movements told CNN late Monday that he was going to seek the release of
Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current
TV, a media venture launched by Clinton's Vice President Al Gore.
Yang Hyong Sop, the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's
Assembly, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, met Clinton,
KCNA reported.
Lee and Ling were arrested while reporting on
the border between North Korea and China and sentenced in June to 12
years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct
a smear campaign.
Since the United States has no diplomatic
relations with North Korea, efforts to resolve the issue have been
handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the
reclusive communist state.
Last month Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Obama
administration had dropped its request for Ling and Lee to be released
on humanitarian grounds and instead was seeking amnesty, which implies
forgiveness for an offense.
This change in language is an
important distinction that could move North Korea to release the women
without feeling that its legal system has been slighted, analyst Mike
Chinoy said.
"I suspect that it was made pretty clear in advance
that Bill Clinton would be able to return with these two women;
otherwise it would be a terrible loss of face for him," said Chinoy, an
Edgerton senior fellow on Asia at the Pacific Council on International
Policy in Los Angeles, California. "The bigger, broader and more
important question is what else could be on the agenda. Will Clinton be
carrying a letter from Barack Obama for the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il? Will he meet Kim Jong Il?"
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