Yesterday, former President Bill “Bubba” Clinton went to North Korea on a very special mission. Many theorized Tuesday morning that Bubba wouldn’t fly off to that country without something big being planned and negotiated beforehand. Turns out, they were right. After a three-and-a-half hour “negotiation” (in what amounted to a series of photo ops and North Korean attempts at propaganda), Bubba got the two American journalists out of their “hard labor” jail sentence/detention through a pardon by Kim Jong Il. Back in March, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, correspondents for Al Gore’s Current TV, were caught crossing over the North Korean border, and in June, were sentenced to 12 years hard labor. Their release became one of the many terse subjects in back-door negotiations between North Korea and America, and I’m personally surprised that it took so little to get these women out. Sources are claiming that the talks were “exhaustive”, but Bubba left North Korea within hours, with Laura and Euna in tow:

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were headed to Los Angeles from North Korea. For their families, their arrival couldn’t come soon enough.

“We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms,” the relatives of the American journalists say in a statement.

Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, who work for former Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV, were released from custody Tuesday – pardoned, the North Korean media said, the same day that former President Bill Clinton met with them and with the country’s leader Kim Jong II.

“The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are overjoyed by the news of their pardon,” says the statement. “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. We must also thank all the people who have supported our families through this ordeal, it has meant the world to us.”

Gore, who had remained quiet during the ordeal, said on his Twitter page, “We are overjoyed by Laura and Euna’s safe return.” The families also thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who had engaged in diplomatic efforts.

In an email to the journalists’ colleagues, Current TV co-founder Joel Hyatt called the pair “extraordinary women who have shown remarkable courage and initiative” and said their ordeal will not have been in vain.

“To Laura and Euna, we promise this: Your courage and passion will be honored by Current’s continued commitment to telling the stories that no one else will tell,” Hyatt wrote. “We owe you no less. Celebrate!”

[From People]

Well, I’m glad that the women were released, I’m sure their families are overjoyed. I’m also impressed with Bubba’s skill in either/both the negotiations and the staging of the North Korean visit. Officially, Bubba was acting alone, “after the women’s families asked him to travel to the communist country and seek their release, a senior administration official said Tuesday.” But wink, wink, nod, of course Bubba went with the express permission of his wife, the secretary of state, and the current president. CNN is even reporting that Bubba offered an apology to Kim Jong Il, but the apology was not on behalf of America, or the current administration. Hopefully, this incident will help further negotiations about larger subjects, like nuclear war.

Laura Ling, Al Gore and Gotham Chopra. Credit: Getty Images
Journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling (sister of Lisa) have been sentenced to twelve years of hard labor in North Korea. Their “crime” was allegedly crossing the border from China to North Korea. Considering North Korea is one of the least press-accessible parts of the world, all we really know is that the two women were detained very close to the border, and that they faced some kind of trial in North Korea, but no one really knows if the women were allowed representation, or were able to present their cases whatsoever.

One of the many screwed up things about this whole situation is that the American diplomatic corps literally has no presence in North Korea. The only confirmation the families have been able to get about the fates of these two women is through the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang. People has more from the families:

At first, no news over the weekend almost seemed promising for Lisa Ling – whose sister, Laura Ling, and friend, Euna Lee – had been arrested by North Korean military on the Chinese border March 17 and faced trial on June 4 for alleged “hostile acts.” As Lisa tweeted on Friday, “Trying to believe that Laura and Euna have won some hearts over, hence the silence.”

But on Sunday, June 7, CNN reported that the Korean Central News Agency said the women had been sentenced to 12 years in labor camps “for the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing.”

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelley said in a statement, “We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release. We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds.”

For three months, the Ling and Lee families had been working quietly to secure the release of Laura and Euna but broke their silence May 31, on the eve of the week of the trial.

In a joint statement, the families pleaded for the “expeditious release of Laura and Euna on humanitarian grounds,” stressing, “Euna Lee is the mother of a 4-year old daughter. And Laura was being treated for an ulcer prior to her departure, and in our limited communication with her we fear it has become more serious since her detainment and requires immediate medical attention.”

The statement also read: “We aren’t certain of the details of what happened on March 17, but we can say with absolute certainty that when the girls left U.S. soil, they never intended to set foot onto North Korean territory. If at any point a transgression occurred, we sincerely apologize on their behalf.”

On Wednesday, June 3, Euna Lee’s husband Michael Saldate, Laura Ling’s husband Iain Clayton, Lisa Ling and their families attended a grassroots vigil in Santa Monica for the women, one of many around the country. An emotional Lisa told PEOPLE, “It is very surreal to be part of a story, especially when it is your little sister and your best friend. For me, my sister is an incredible journalist. She is a wife and an adult but she’s still my little sister and to feel this helpless has been the most debilitating experience of my life.”

However, Lisa and her family prefer to think about the political opportunity presented by the plight of Laura and Euna. “We would champion the opportunity to have these girls be the catalyst for diplomacy,” Lisa said. “I think it could be really amazing. The problem right now is that our two countries don’t have a diplomatic relationship and so communication has been really limited. We are trying to encourage our two countries to come together and if this is the reason why they do, then we’ll take it.”

Although the Ling and Lee families had hoped the women’s fate would not be tied in to ongoing tensions related to North Korea’s testing of nuclear missiles, analysts seem to think the sentence will help serve as a bargaining chip. In an interview with the Associated Press, Yang Moo-jin, a North Korean studies professor at Seoul University, said the prison sentence has “paved the way for a political pardon and a diplomatic solution.”

[From People]

The part about “they never intended to set foot onto North Korean territory” is interesting. I wonder if that’s true, or if that’s the defense the State Department is taking when the fate of these women is potentially negotiated. I tend to think the statement “If at any point a transgression occurred, we sincerely apologize on their behalf” was written by some diplomat. CNN was reporting over the weekend that Gov. Bill Richardson and/or Al Gore are being mentioned as potential special envoys that should/will be sent to negotiate the release of these women. It’s sad that these women will be used as a bargaining chip in further negotiations, but, on the plus side, I doubt the women will have to spend to much time in jail.