Latest News
Bill Clinton meets Kim Jong-Il
Font size:
Seeks release of two U.S. reporters jailed since March.
Ananth Krishnan
The former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, made a surprise visit to North Korea on Tuesday, where he met Kim Jong-Il seeking the release of two American reporters who had been jailed since March.
Mr. Clinton’s is the highest-level visit from the U.S. to North Korea in a decade, and is particularly significant as it comes against the backdrop of worsening ties between the two countries after North Korea conducted a nuclear test in May, defying United Nations sanctions. The two countries have no diplomatic ties: the last high-level visit by a U.S. official was, in fact, during Mr. Clinton’s administration, when his Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang in 2000.
State media in North Korea reported that Mr. Kim hosted a dinner for Mr. Clinton, and the two held a “wide-ranging exchange of views on matters of common concern”. It said Mr. Clinton had “courteously” conveyed a message to Mr. Kim from U.S. President Barack Obama. But U.S. officials on Tuesday said Mr. Clinton’s visit was not official, and described it as “a private mission”. Officials said they would not release details “while the mission was in progress”.
Mr. Clinton is thought to have made a case for the release of the two jailed reporters. In March, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two reporters working for Current TV — a news channel started by Al Gore, who served as Mr. Clinton’s Vice-President between 1993 and 2001 — were detained by North Korea along its border with China.
The two reporters were filming a news report on the thousands of refugees who cross over into China every year. Pyongyang said they had entered North Korea illegally, and accused them of committing “hostile acts”. Both were sentenced to 12 years of hard labour.
There is now an expectation that Mr. Clinton’s visit might also pave the way for talks between the two countries. The last visit by a former President, Jimmy Carter, in 1994 led to a thawing in the relationship, and Mr. Clinton’s visit comes only a week after North Korea declared it was willing to hold direct talks with the U.S.
But the U.S. has said it would only engage with the country through the multilateral Six-Party Talks mechanism — an initiative set up in 2003 along with China, South Korea, Russia and Japan aimed at promoting denuclearisation and bringing stability to the region. North Korea quit the Six-Party Talks in April after it conducted a failed satellite launch, followed by a series of nuclear and missile tests.
In June, the United Nations Security Council expanded sanctions against North Korea, calling for an arms embargo, freezing financial transactions and tighter inspections of cargo. North Korea is heavily dependent on China, its closest ally, for food supplies and financial support. Some analysts say North Korea’s recent moves are a show of strength by ailing leader Kim Jong-Il as he prepares for the succession of his 26 year-old son, Kim Jong-Un. Last month, U.S. officials reportedly approached China to hold talks for a contingency plan in case the politics of succession led to a collapse of the regime. Chinese officials however rejected the invitation, saying that “allowing the collapse of the regime would be unacceptable” for China.
:
del.icio.us |
Digg
del.icio.us |
Digg
Post your comment