Bill Clinton Knight In Shining Armour
Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by Stenberg-Tendys W.L. in Politics, Women
Former President Bill Clinton appears as a knight in shining armour, as he raced in and out of North Korea on a fleeting visit, in a chartered jet plane. His mission was to rescue the two American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling who had been sentenced to 12 years hard labour, for allegedly crossing the border and engaging in ‘hostile acts’.
The journalists, Laura Ling, 32 and Euna Lee, 36, were granted a full pardon by Kim Jong II. The journalists had been researching the trafficking of women into China, as brides for rural areas which have no women of marriageable age, due to China’s one-child policy.
Home At Last
Clinton and the two Californian women headed back into the U.S., less than 24 hours after the former U.S. leader landed in the North Korean capital on a private, humanitarian trip to secure the journalists’ release. Former President Clinton had the highest profile of any U.S. official to visit Pyongyang for nearly a decade.
The State media reported that Clinton had apologized on behalf of the women and had expressed President Barack Obama’s gratitude.
Clinton was welcomed with honors that are usually reserved for visiting heads of State. It included a banquet for Clinton withVIP photographs and talks with the reclusive Kim Jong II. Clinton was accompanied by John Podesta, his one-time White House Chief of staff and current informal adviser to Barack Obama.
The White House however said Clinton’s trip was of a private nature. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton had last month urged North Korea to grant the women amnesty, saying they were remorseful for their actions.
“The journalists’ release followed weeks of quiet negotiations between the State Department and the North Korean mission to the United Nations,” said Daniel Sneider, associate director of research at Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. “Clinton did not go to negotiate this, he went to reap the fruits of the negotiation.”
It is still unclear whether or not the women actually entered North Korea and we may never learn the real truth of the matter. It would appear that unless the two women admitted to deliberately crossing into Korea, they would not be granted a pardon.
The two women were held in a guest house after receiving their judgement. The hard labour sentence was never invoked.
By Clinton going to collect the women, Obama’s administration was not forced to use diplomatic capital and take the spot-light away from the more delicate negotiations concerning North Korea’s nuclear programme. Clinton is not the first ex-president to be used for this type of unofficial diplomatic missions to Korea. Jimmy Carter made a similar trip while Clinton was president.
Al Gore was Obama’s first choice to rescue the girls, but Gore was rejected by North Korea. Bill Clinton had built a relationship with North Korea during his presidency, when he sent the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright on an official visit, to discuss North Korea’s missile programme, in 2000. Albright said at the time, “I think North Korea is wanting to get some recognition from the United States that North Korea exists and that we should have diplomatic relations.”
Albright believed that the reclusive Kim Jong II wanted to establish himself on the world stage as a leader and the only way he could do it was through developing weapons of mass destruction and selling them to other nations.
