O ex-Presidente, marido da secretária de Estado, é o segundo antigo chefe de Estado americano a pisar solo norte-coreano, depois de Jimmy Carter.
«Former President Bill Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il Tuesday to begin discussions aimed at earning the release of two detained American journalists.
According to North Korea’s state news agency, Clinton supplied Kim with a verbal message from President Barack Obama shortly after landing in Pyongyang. The report said Clinton’s message was “courteously” conveyed.
Kim and the former president then sat down for what the state media described as a “wide-ranging exchange of views.”
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement emailed soon after Clinton’s landing Tuesday that the Obama administration will not be commenting on the situation during the former president’s visit.
“While this solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans is on the ground, we will have no comment,” Gibbs said. “We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission.”
The two journalists – Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36 – were captured on March 17 after venturing across the border from South Korea while reporting a story for Current TV, a San Francisco-based cable network. The two were later sentenced to 12 years of labor.
A Washington source said the Clinton trip came about after North Korean officials told relatives that the government would release the women to the former president.. The families then approached Clinton.
The source told POLITICO that the White House approved the mission, which has been secretly planned for weeks.
The delicate journey comes amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, which continues to pursue and test nuclear capabilities.
Clinton was accompanied to North Korea by his former chief of staff, John Podesta, who more recently headed Obama’s transition team.»
in POLITICO.com
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