CNN.Former President Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in North Korea on Tuesday, North Korea's state-run news agency reported.Clinton arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day on a mission to negotiate the release of two American journalists who have been held in the reclusive communist nation since March, the White House confirmed.
Clinton "courteously conveyed a verbal message" to Kim from President Obama, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that Clinton was carrying any message from the Obama administration.
Kim and Clinton had "an exhaustive conversation" that included "a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern," KCNA reported.
Earlier in the day, Gibbs confirmed Clinton was on a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans," but gave little detail on his itinerary .
"We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission," Gibbs said.
KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line dispatch. However a source with detailed knowledge of Clinton's movements told CNN late Monday that he was going to seek the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV, a media venture launched by Clinton's Vice President Al Gore.
Yang Hyong Sop, the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, met Clinton, KCNA reported.
Lee and Ling were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and 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 have been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the reclusive communist state.
Clinton "courteously conveyed a verbal message" to Kim from President Obama, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denied that Clinton was carrying any message from the Obama administration.
Kim and Clinton had "an exhaustive conversation" that included "a wide-ranging exchange of views on the matters of common concern," KCNA reported.
Earlier in the day, Gibbs confirmed Clinton was on a "solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans," but gave little detail on his itinerary .
"We do not want to jeopardize the success of former President Clinton's mission," Gibbs said.
KCNA did not disclose the purpose of the visit in its three-line dispatch. However a source with detailed knowledge of Clinton's movements told CNN late Monday that he was going to seek the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters for California-based Current TV, a media venture launched by Clinton's Vice President Al Gore.
Yang Hyong Sop, the vice president of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly, and Kim Kye Gwan, the vice foreign minister, met Clinton, KCNA reported.
Lee and Ling were arrested while reporting on the border between North Korea and China and 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 have been handled through Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in the reclusive communist state.
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