North Korea said on Wednesday it had pardoned two jailed American journalists after former U.S. President Bill Clinton met the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong-il, a move some analysts said could pave the way to direct nuclear disarmament talks, Reuters reported.
Clinton's spokesman said the former president had left Pyongyang with the two reporters and they were flying to Los Angeles.
"President Clinton has safely left North Korea with Laura Ling and Euna Lee. They are enroute to Los Angeles where Laura and Euna will be reunited with their families," spokesman Matt McKenna said in a statement.
Washington, which is keen not to be seen to reward the isolated North for its recent nuclear and missile tests, insisted the meeting was a private one by Clinton.
But Pyongyang, desperate for the recognition that direct talks with the Obama administration would bring, made clear it saw the visit in a much more official light.
The North's KCNA news agency said Clinton and Kim "had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of (the two journalists)."
The two reporters, Euna Lee, 36, and Laura Ling, 32, who work for Current TV, an American TV outlet co-founded by Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, had been sentenced to 12 years hard labor for illegally entering the North and committing "grave crimes."
"The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are overjoyed by the news of their pardon," said a statement posted on a website created to support the two journalists.
But there were immediate questions about what Clinton had discussed with Kim beyond the fate of the two reporters.