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North Korea prisoners (2 reporters) released
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| denys envy |
i bet when Barack was discussing going over to pick them up, Bill was like "oooh! oohhh! send me! send meeeeeeeeeee!"
two asian ladies and bill on a plane... ha ha, we all know the end of that story. Bill Clinton's fantasy #27, check! |
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| Lira |
:stongue: :stongue: :stongue:
And, here's the story :p
| quote: | N. Korean leader reportedly pardons U.S. journalists
Story Highlights
NEW: "Clinton expressed sincere words of apology," statement says
NEW: North Korea says Laura Ling, Euna Lee have been released
Reporters for Al Gore's Current TV accused of plotting smear campaign
Visit comes amid tension over North Korea's nuclear program
(CNN) -- North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned and ordered the release of two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said Wednesday.
The announcement came after former U.S. President Bill Clinton met with top North Korean officials in Pyongyang to appeal for the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been arrested while reporting from the border between North Korea and China.
"Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it," the news agency reported. "Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view.
"The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them."
The report said Clinton then conveyed a message from President Obama "expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries."
It added, "The measure taken to release the American journalists is a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peace-loving policy.
"The DPRK visit of Clinton and his party will contribute to deepening the understanding between the DPRK and the U.S. and building the bilateral confidence."
DPRK is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the nation's official name.
The two American journalists had been held in the reclusive communist nation since their arrest in March.
Astatement from their families was posted Tuesday on the Web site lauraandeuna.com:
"The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are overjoyed by the news of their pardon. We are so grateful to our government: President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the U.S. State Department for their dedication to and hard work on behalf of American citizens. We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home."
Earlier in the day, White House Secretary Robert Gibbs said Clinton was on a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans."
Ling and Lee are reporters for California-based Current TV -- a media venture launched by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore.
The two were 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 had been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in North Korea.
The visit by the former president, whose wife, Hillary Clinton, is now the Obama administration's secretary of state, came about three weeks after the United States dropped a request that Ling and Lee be released on humanitarian grounds. Instead, the United States was seeking amnesty for the women, Hillary Clinton said. Watch what may lie behind the pick of Bill Clinton »
A plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for some offense, which could have given North Korea the chance to release the women without feeling that its legal system had been slighted, according to analyst Mike Chinoy, an Edgerton senior fellow on Asia at the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles.
Prior to the release, 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."
Clinton's mission came as the United States and its allies in the region are seeking to push North Korea back into stalled nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea conducted a nuclear bomb test, its second, in May, and has conducted several missile tests since then. The United Nations responded to those tests by tightening and expanding sanctions on the nation.
North Korea and the United States were on opposite sides in the 1950-1953 Korean War and had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea agreed at that time to halt the development of nuclear weapons, but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003.
Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000, near the end of his second term as president. His secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, went to Pyongyang in early 2000 to meet with Kim.
The 67-year-old North Korean leader was widely reported to have suffered a stroke a year ago and is believed to be grooming his youngest son, Kim Jon Un, as his successor. |
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/a...nton/index.html |
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| The17sss |
| quote: | | Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it |
lol... dude's got apologizing down to a science. |
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| miamitranceman |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
lol... dude's got apologizing down to a science. |
:stongue:
Classic |
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| Scottaculous |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
lol... dude's got apologizing down to a science. |
and lying |
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| infinity HiGH |
| Seriously how can anyone hate this guy? He's not even President and he gets done. I'd love to see Bush pull something like this off. |
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| chimera66 |
| quote: | Originally posted by infinity HiGH
Seriously how can anyone hate this guy? He's not even President and he gets done. I'd love to see Bush pull something like this off. |
true story people need to stop hating on the man. |
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| The17sss |
| quote: | Originally posted by chimera66
true story people need to stop hating on the man. |
I agree... everybody wins with this result (kinda). The journalists get freed, Obama scores some points, Billy-Jeff gets his massive ego stroked knowing he's still a player on a global scale, and Kim Jong Il feels legitimate. Only thing is that bad behavior is kind of being rewarded. But at least those 2 chicks are coming home. |
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| tubularbills |
| good ol' slick willy to seal the deal |
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| _Ocean_Drive_ |
Great diplomacy.
I'd love to see NK one day open up to the world. I can't help feel that all the isolationism down to hawks in the govt. Whilst Kim is in no way a capitalist advocate, I think given the choice (if it were entirely up to him) he'd be willing to at least negotiate some stuff. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by The17sss
lol... dude's got apologizing down to a science. |
or not?
| quote: |
Former US president Bill Clinton offered no apology for the conduct of two American journalists freed by North Korea following his humanitarian mission, a senior US official said on Tuesday.
Friends and family of two California journalists were relieved and excited Tuesday after the pair were pardoned by North Korea and released to Clinton.
But they weren't ready to start the celebration until Laura Ling and Euna Lee landed in the United States.
The Obama administration says that the families of two reporters imprisoned in North Korea asked Clinton to travel to Pyongyang to seek the women's release. They were joined in the request by former Vice President Al Gore.
A senior administration official also says that Clinton's mission did not include any discussions about issues beyond the release of 32-year-old Ling and 36-year-old Lee, both journalists with Gore's Current TV media venture.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail events leading up to the Clinton trip and the women's release.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered the journalists released after meeting with Clinton, who arrived in North Korea earlier in the day on an unannounced visit. Clinton left the country with both journalists aboard his plane, his spokesman Matt McKenna said. All three were en route to Los Angeles, where the journalists were expected to be reunited with their families.
In June, the nation's top court sentenced Ling and Lee to 12 years of hard labour for sneaking into the country illegally and engaging in "hostile acts".
The journalists were working for Gore's Current TV media venture when North Korean guards seized them in March near the country's border with China. |
http://www.theage.com.au/world/no-c...90805-e9hy.html |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by _Ocean_Drive_
Great diplomacy.
I'd love to see NK one day open up to the world. I can't help feel that all the isolationism down to hawks in the govt. Whilst Kim is in no way a capitalist advocate, I think given the choice (if it were entirely up to him) he'd be willing to at least negotiate some stuff. |
Actually, let's hope that doesn't happen. Imagine the mass exodus if and when the North Korean regime falls and the people realize they live in a hole. |
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