How Does Former President Bill Clinton Fill The Bill For High-Stakes Trip To North Korea?
Securing his status as an international handshake-for-hire, former President Bill Clinton flew to North Korea Tuesday on a high-stakes diplomatic mission to negotiate the release of two jailed American journalists. It’s unclear how involved the White House was in Clinton’s trip. But one thing was certain: Clinton’s wife — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been the face of the administration’s efforts to bring North Korea back to the table over its nuclear program — was not there. The secretary was in Africa on a seven-nation tour. So … why Bill? International affairs analysts say the former president offers something the North Koreans crave — status and bragging rights. His visit could be considered ransom by itself. Plus Hillary Clinton and Pyongyang aren’t exactly simpatico these days, after she and the North Koreans got in a lowbrow war of words during her trip to Asia last month. “Let’s face it. He is a rock star of sorts. And they probably get the most sort of payba
Update | 1:54 p.m. Martha Raddatz and Joohee Cho of ABC News report that Mr. Clinton met with Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two detained American journalists, in North Korea on Tuesday, according to “a government source” who described the meeting as “very emotional.” ABC reports: The source, who has knowledge of the Clinton team’s mission, was hopeful that the two will be back home in the United States tomorrow, and that Clinton will depart tonight from North Korea. Original Post Last month, The Lede asked whether North Korea was hoping for a visit from Al Gore, the former vice president and a co-owner of Current TV, when the regime sentenced two journalists working for the American channel to 12 years of hard labor. While early reports suggested that the Obama administration might send Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who had successfully negotiated with the regime in Pyongyang in the past, to negotiate for their release, a recent string of provocative actions by North Korea — hitti
