Ex-U.S. President Clinton heading to N. Korea for detained journalists

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SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was on
his way to North Korea to win the release of two detained American journalists,
sources said Tuesday.
Clinton, whose administration had engaged in extensive negotiations with
Pyongyang, was heading to the North on a chartered plane, according to the
sources.
In Washington, Andy Lainey, a spokesman for the State Department, would not
confirm the report, saying, "I have no information on that. It won't be available
until morning."
A White House National Security Council officer, who would not reveal his name,
also said, "I have no information on the travel."
Laura Ling and Euna Lee of the San Francisco-based media group Current TV,
co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, were arrested in mid-March near
the China-North Korea border while reporting on refugees fleeing the impoverished
North.
They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor by the North on charges of illegal
entry and "hostile acts."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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