SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) top leader Kim Jong-il has met with visiting former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Pyongyang on Tuesday and received a verbal message from U.S. President Barack Obama, Pyongyang's state media reported, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Kim hosted a dinner for Clinton at the state guest
house, reported Radio Pyongyang and the Korean Central Broadcasting Station.
Kim and Clinton exchanged "a broad range of opinion"
in their talks, the report added.
The former U.S. president arrived in Pyongyang
earlier Tuesday, a trip apparently aimed at seeking the release of two American
journalists detained in DPRK since March.
Clinton's surprise visit also raised hopes for a
breakthrough in the long-stalled nuclear disarmament talks and a momentum for
dialogue.
Visiting former U.S. President Bill
Clinton shakes hands with Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the Presidium
of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK), in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK), on Aug. 4, 2009. Clinton arrived here on Tuesday, but did
not answer any questions asked by reporters. (Xinhua/Zhang
Binyang) Photo
Gallery>>>
PYONGYANG, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President
Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK), on Tuesday.
Clinton was greeted by Yang Hyong Sop, vice president
of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Vice Foreign Minister Kim
Kye Gwan after his chartered plane touched down at the Pyongyang Sunan
International Airport at 12:00 p.m. local time (0300 GMT). Full story
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Bill
Clinton was heading to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Tuesday
to seek the release of two detained American journalists.
"Former President Clinton is en route to Pyongyang,"
the Yonhap news agency quoted an informed source as saying. "As soon as he
arrives there, he will begin negotiations for the release of the journalists."
Full story
WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Obama
administration on Friday called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) to grant amnesty to two female American journalists who were sentenced to
12 years in prison for "hostile actions" against the country.
File photo shows the two
U.S. women reporters held by the DPRK. (Xinhua/AFP
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
"The two journalists and their families have
expressed great remorse for this incident, and I think everyone is very sorry
that it happened," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. Full story
