Clinton believed to have arrived in Pyongyang: source

(ATTN: UPDATES with more quotes, details in paras 3-5)
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is believed to have
arrived in Pyongyang to meet with North Korean officials to secure the release of
two detained American journalists, diplomatic sources in Seoul said Tuesday.
"We're aware that an aircraft from the U.S. landed at the Sunan Airport in
Pyongyang at around 10:48 a.m.," one source said on condition of anonymity.
The source said Seoul officials are closely monitoring the situation.
"We strongly believe that former President Clinton was on that flight," he said.
South Korean air traffic authorities appeared not to have been given any
information about the aircraft or the flight.
The former U.S. president, according to the sources, was to negotiate and secure
the release of the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee of the San
Francisco-based media group Current TV.
The two 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."
Officials in Seoul said that North Korea and the U.S. have been holding "active
consultations" on their fate in recent weeks.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)