Bill Clinton Opens Pyongyang's Door

I had gone to Pyongyang for other reasons. But I was also hopeful, in early July of this year, that I could be of some assistance to Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists then being held by North Korea.

I quickly realized that they were beyond the help of my contacts in a variety of government departments. The situation had become extremely politicized, a matter of national prestige. The North Koreans were furious with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's declaration that the charges were "baseless," and they were preparing to send the journalists to a hard-labor prison camp. The journalists would be released only if North Korea's head of state, Kim Jong Il, chose to issue an official pardon or amnesty. The problem was that no one in North Korea dared recommend such amnesty for fear of political repercussions.