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US relieved as reporters back home
By Peng Kuang in Beijing Reuters and AP in US (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-06 10:53
Los Angeles: With the dramatic release yesterday of two American journalists by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) - due to the intervention of former US President Bill Clinton - experts debated how significant the event was in the long saga of US-DPRK relations. The encounter in Pyongyang between Clinton and DPRK leader Kim Jong-il was the highest-level contact between the two countries since Bill Clinton was president nearly a decade ago The two journalists - Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36 - were freed by the DPRK after being detained since March. They returned to US soil accompanied by Clinton, who secured their release in his meeting with Kim. President Barack Obama proclaimed the US government "extraordinarily relieved" over the release and praised Clinton and former Vice-President Al Gore for their roles. Speaking on the White House lawn just before leaving on a trip to Indiana, Obama said: "The reunion we've all seen on television, I think, is a source of happiness not only for the families but also for the entire country." Clinton and Obama insisted that this was a "purely private humanitarian mission", though at least one US official said the former president talked to the DPRK leadership about the "positive things that could flow" from freeing the two women. Some Chinese analysts said it was too early to be optimistic about any potential progress on the Korean nuclear crisis. Zhang Liangui, an expert on the DPRK at Central Party School, said it is unlikely the visit will lead to direct US-DPRK talks. "As Pyongyang has declared its withdrawal from the Six-Party Talks permanently, there will be no talks on the nuclear issue in the foreseeable future," he said, since the US refuses to engage in any other forum.
But, she said in Kenya- where she was visiting as part of a trip to Africa - "We have always considered that a totally separate issue from our efforts to re-engage DPRK leaders and have them return to the Six-Party Talks." That, Clinton said, was the route to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. She denied that her husband had apologized to Pyongyang for the two journalists' activities. "That did not occur," Clinton said, a denial that was reiterated by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, who said Bill Clinton carried no message and "certainly no apology" to the DPRK leader. On the ground in California, Ling thanked all those who had campaigned for their release. "We could feel your love all the way in the DPRK. It is what kept us going in the darkest hours." Central Party School analyst Zhang indicated that China's influence has been waning on the settlement of the Korean nuclear issue. But Yang Xiyu, a senior expert on DPRK at the China Institute of International Studies, said China still wields influence in the region. "The constructive role that China has played is comprehensive and for the long-term. Clinton's visit, which resulted from an incidental event, will not affect China's effort at ensuring stability and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula," he said. Right now, he said, the DPRK is doing all it can to establish a closer relationship with the US - as seen in the way Pyongyang has handled Clinton's visit. US officials said the DPRK was not promised any rewards for the journalists' release and there was no link to nuclear nonproliferation talks - though analysts around the globe have speculated that Clinton's visit and discussions with Kim could open the way to direct nuclear disarmament talks. |
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