Public CompanyBill Clinton on surprise visit to NKorea
Former US President Bill Clinton today made a surprise trip to North Korea amid an international standoff over the country"s nuclear programme and concerns about two US reporters imprisoned in Pyongyang since March.
- US rules out any direct talks with North Korea - US open to conditional talks with North Korea - NKorea suggests different disarmament talks - UN panel slaps sanctions on 5 N Korean officials, 5 entities - South Korea developing new electronic bombs - US, Japan to hold "official" talks on nuclear umbrella
Clinton today landed in Pyongyang and was greeted at the airport by North Korean officials, including chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea"s state news agency said in a brief dispatch.
His visit comes amid heightened tensions over North Korea"s string of nuclear and missile tests in defiance of UN resolutions, and calls from Washington for amnesty for the two reporters.
Ling and Lee, reporters for former Vice President Al Gore"s California-based Current TV media venture, were arrested in March while on a reporting trip to the Chinese-North Korean border. They were sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labour for entering the country illegally and engaging in "hostile acts."
In New York, the Clinton Foundation did not immediately return calls, and Gore"s spokeswoman, Kalee Kreider, said she could not comment. At the White House, Deputy Press Secretary Tommy Vietor said he had no comment.