Former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang, the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
He was greeted by Yang Hyong Sop, vice president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan at the airport. Clinton did not answer any questions asked by reporters.
DPRK officials did not reveal the purpose of his visit but South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the former U.S. president came here for negotiations to win the release of two detained American journalists.
"Former President Clinton is en route to Pyongyang," the Yonhap news agency quoted an informed source as saying. "As soon as he arrives there, he will begin negotiations for the release of the journalists."
The DPRK's highest court sentenced in June two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, to 12 years of what it calls "reform through labor."
The two, who worked for the San Francisco-based Current TV co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, were captured on March 17 for allegedly crossing the DPRK border from China and committing "hostile actions" against the country.