North Korea Says Journalists To Go Free

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – The effort by former president Bill Clinton to win the release of two American journalists held in North Korea has apparently succeeded.

North Korean media say leader Kim Jong Il has issued a “special pardon” for the two, and ordered their release at Clinton’s request.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee had been sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor. They had been arrested in March after crossing into North Korea from China, where they had been reporting on North Korean defectors.

Clinton had landed today in the North Korean capital on a quiet mission to negotiate freedom for the two women, who worked for a media venture owned by his former vice president, Al Gore.

State media said Clinton had apologized on behalf of the women, and that he relayed the gratitude of President Barack Obama. But the White House denied that Clinton went with a message from Obama.

North Korea says the decision to release the woman reflects what it calls the country’s “humanitarian and peaceloving policy.”

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)