US hopeful of amnesty to American journalists arrested by North Korea

August 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama Tuesday met Bill Clinton at the White House to discuss the former president's trip to North Korea earlier this month. Clinton had gone to North Korea to secure the release of two US journalists who had been held there for months, and the White House said at the time that the 42nd president would soon debrief Obama on the trip.

August 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US former president Bill Clinton left North Korea Wednesday morning with two American journalists who had been detained since March in the communist country, CNN reported. Clinton, Laura Ling and Euna Lee were on their way to Los Angeles, where the two women are to meet their families, CNN quoted Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna as saying.

August 5th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - Two US journalists freed by North Korea after three months in prison arrived back in the US Wednesday along with former president Bill Clinton. Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, landed at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport near Los Angeles.

August 5th, 2009 PYONGYANG - The two American journalists pardoned by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il left the country Wednesday aboard a chartered plane carrying the homebound former US president Bill Clinton. Clinton arrived unexpectedly in Pyongyang Tuesday and met the North Korean leader to secure the release of two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were arrested in March for sneaking into the communist country illegally.

August 5th, 2009 Clinton departs North Korea with journalistsWASHINGTON — Bill Clinton's spokesman says the former president has left North Korea with two American journalists who had been held hostage. Matt McKenna said late Tuesday that Clinton has "safely left North Korea with Laura Ling and Euna Lee." He said they're flying to Los Angeles, where the journalists will be reunited with their families.

August 5th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - Former US President Bill Clinton arrived early Wednesday morning at Burbank Airport near Los Angeles, California, after his mission gaining the release of two pardoned American journalists who had been detained since March in North Korea. Clinton, Laura Ling and Euna Lee had flown from Pyongyjang after the ex-president's previously unannounced 20-hour visit during which he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who pardoned the two journalists.

July 11th, 2009 Clinton says reporters held in NKorea sorryWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday urged North Korea to grant amnesty to two American reporters sentenced to 12 years of hard labor last month for illegally entering North Korea. Clinton said the reporters have expressed "great remorse for this incident" and called on the North to allow Laura Ling and Euna Lee to quickly return home to their families.

July 10th, 2009 Clinton: Reporters held by N. Korea showed remorseWASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says two American reporters sentenced last month to 12 years of hard labor for entering North Korea illegally have expressed "great remorse for this incident." Clinton called Friday for North Korea to grant amnesty to Laura Ling and Euna Lee and let them return home quickly to their families.

June 16th, 2009 SEOUL - Two US journalists jailed in North Korea have admitted their part in a "smear campaign" against the country, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Tuesday. They entered the country illegally with the aim of making films to misrepresent North Korea's human rights policy, the report said.

June 16th, 2009 Report: 2 US journalists admit entering NKoreaSEOUL, South Korea — North Korea's state-run news agency says that two American journalists sentenced last week to 12 years of labor admitted they crossed into the country illegally. The Korean Central News Agency said in a detailed report Tuesday that Laura Ling and Euna Lee of Current TV were arrested after crossing the Tumen River from China into North Korea.

June 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Monday called on North Korea to release two US women journalists who were held for illegally entering that country on humanitarian grounds. "We call on the North Korean authorities to release the two young ladies, allow them to be reunited with their families, and we're very, very focused on that right now," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters.

May 14th, 2009 PYONGYANG - A North Korean court will try two detained US journalists June 4, the state-run news agency reported Thursday. Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were detained March 17 near the Tumen River, which marks the border with China.

April 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US called on North Korea to release the two American journalists who are facing criminal charges in the Stalinist state. 'We continue to call on the North Koreans to release the two Americans so they can be returned to their families,' State Department acting spokesman Robert Wood said.

April 24th, 2009 NEW YORK - North Korea today said that it has decided to indict two US journalists who have been detained for more than five weeks on charges of illegally entering the country and committing "hostile acts." "Our related agency has completed its investigation of the American journalists. It has formally decided to put them on trial based on confirmed criminal data," North Korea's state-run news agency, KCNA, reported.

April 24th, 2009 SEOUL - North Korea Friday said it has concluded its investigation into the alleged illegal entry of two US journalists now detained by the Stalinist state and formally decided to put them on trial. The state-run Korean Central News Agency said 'hostile acts' had been concluded and the two women were also to be indicted on charges of illegal entry.