Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to Pyongyang to secure the release of two jailed journalist, Euna Lee and Laura Ling of Current TV. The journalist had been held since March, when they were arrested for illegally crossing into North Korea and were subsequently convicted of "hostile acts."
It has been assumed for quite some time now that there were back-channel negotiations ongoing, and that it was only a matter of time before a high-profile American was sent to meet with Kim Jong Ill. According to former Clinton White House official Lanny Davis, the former President would probably make a pitch to Kim that would highlight the "good will" that releasing the prisoners would engender around the world. So these two women have been pardoned by North Korea, and should return to the United States soon.
Today's events are made even more surprising by the recent spat between North Korea and the former First Lady and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, at last month's ASEAN summit, said that North Korea was, "seeking attention," and that "they don't deserve it." In response a spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Minister called her a "funny lady," perhaps misinterpreting her remarks as dry wit?
In the end, this is great news for Ling and Lee, and their families. Many questions remain about their future. How soon will they return home? Will they speak to the press (or on Current TV) about their experience? Will they return to remote and dangerous corners of the world to continue the great reporting they've done so far? It is very possible that they don't know the answers to these questions yet.
2 comments:
This was great news! Apparently, I've heard they will be home this morning. This little incident just goes to show that we just need to talk to each other, that things aren't that hard - if North Korea wants attention to keep from being tremendous a-holes, then just give them a little attention. Bill Clinton did a great thing by doing this, apparently helped quite a bit by Bill Richardson. Now we need to talk to the Iranians to get those three kids out that wandered into Iranian landspace by mistake. We just need to talk to each other, and not pretend that our enemies deserve the cold shoulder - just because they won't do everything we dictate to them.
CHEERS to the Big Bill & Il Chill. Wow -- this is a feather in the Obama administration's and the Clinton legacy's caps. Bubba flew to Pyongyang, did some grippin' n grinnin' with North Korea's oddball regime, and returned with the two journalists who otherwise would've spent a dozen years breaking big rocks into little ones. Amazing what can happen when you reactivate an evil dictator's Netflix account. Stand by the for the GOP whining in 3...2...1...Pop!
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