north korea. john bolden came out swinging, writing that, quote -- now, he adds they're helping to gain access to important figures. >> okay. to every reaction there can be another reaction. >> mm-hmm. >> so what are people saying about bolton. >> we got it. well said. some say that a slamming clinton's trip is foolish. here's senior analyst david gergen on that. >> reporter: i think it's nonsense and bogus. he went as a private citizen. that's why privacy is so important. beyond that, if josh bolten had his way, these two women would still be in prison. >> and robin, the administration consistently saying it's drawing a line from winning the journali journalists' freedom on one side and dealing with the nuclear ambitions. senior administration officials saying clinton's trip was strictly a private humanitarian mission and did not deal with the north korea nuclear bomb and missile testing, robin. >> thank you. i want to tell you, folks, when those folks arrive back in the united states, we'll brin

first, though, north korea. former president clinton on a mission there to meet with the country's dear leader kim jong il. his immediate goal? the release of two american journalists sentenced 12 years with hard labor. breaking in just the past hour fox news confirmed that president clinton met with those two women. there is much more to this story, angled that could impact american diplomacy quite literally around the world. we'll cover it all today starting with the latest overseas. the former president flew into north korea earlier today. the visit was kept secret until he landed, and played down by the white house. then the big meeting with kim jong il. pictures released by north korea, i'm told. officially the white house says this is a private mission on president clinton's part. but keep in mind this is a former u.s. president talking to a rogue state that has recently tested nuclear weapons. and his wife just happens to be the scurnt secretary of state. -- current secretary of state. in other words, the

he arrived in north korea on a mission. to bring two american journalists back home. >> it may be a face-saving measure by the north koreans, saying we need a high level, prominent american person to come over, and then we'll go. >> reporter: euna lee and laura ling were working for al gore's current tv when they were tried in march. they were tried, convicted and sentenced to 12 years hard labor for crossing the border illegally and committing grave crimes. >> all we can say to the government of north korea is we desperately beg for mercy. >> reporter: washington has been pushing for the journalists' release for months. the fear is they're using the women as a negotiating card to win concessions. pyongyang rapidly escalated tensions this year with several provocative actions, including restarting its nuclear facilities and test-firing a series of ballistic missiles. >> the fact that they've agreed to welcome the former president of the united states with a strong likelihood that he will see kim jong-il, the north korean le

it will expect for north korea to come back to negotiations. >> and if i'm south korea, if i'm japan, how do i view all of this? >> with some concern. south koreans and the japanese have their own issues, which are not the same, that the u.s. has with north korea. and they're not all that excited and enthusiastic about the u.s. dealing with north korea directly without them. but moving forward, no real substantial change in policy in north korea is going to happen without the u.s. consulting with its key allies in the region, south korea and japan. >> charles armstrong, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> protesters took to the streets again today in iran, shouting death to the dictator, as president mahmoud ahmadinejad was sworn in for his second term. amateur video posted on the internet showed what was said to be groups of people gathering near the parliament building in tehran, where that inauguration was held. state run television reported that 5,000 security forces were deployed in the area. witnesses claim that police used tear gas and batons to break up the antigovernment r

north korea to act. the white house is trying to separate the two matters here, nuclear negotiations and these two women and they are sailinging one has to do with humanitarian and they don't think that both of them overlap. >> thank you, dan. i want to bring back governor richardson. governor richardson, do you have our audio back? >> i think i'm back. >> gloria bore jer was asking you a question. we will get back to her. >> i was asking you essentially what else the north koreans would be getting out of this, aside from the photo ops with bill clinton? clearly they want direct contact with the u.s. outside the six-party talks. does this qualify for that? would bill clinton have come with a message on that? >> this is what the north koreans get. one, they get international press over the visit of a former president. north koreans have always wanted president clinton to come. other american presidents, we have not done that appropriately. i think that's been the right decision, but they get -- kim jong-i

expect for north korea to come back to negoations. >> and ii'm south korea, if i'm japa how do i view allof this? >> wh some concern. south koreans and sme japanese have their own issue which are not the sam that the u.s. has wi north korea. and they're not all that excited and enthusiastic about t u.s. deing with north korea directly without them. butmoving fward, no real substantl change in policyin north korea is going to happen without the u. consulting with its key allies in the region, south korea and japan. >> chaes armstrong, thank you very much. thank you. >>> protters took to the streets, ain today in iran, shouti death to the dictator, as president mahmoud ahmadinejad was sworn for his second term. amateur video posted on e inrnet what was said to be groups of peopleathering near the parliament building in hran, where that inauguration was held, state-run television rerted that 5,000 security forces werdeployed in the ea. witnses claim that police us tear gas and batons to break up the antigovernment rallies >>> en with ahmadinejad now officially installed a president an's

we're following big breaking news out of north korea where the a.p. just confirming that the two american journalists there sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, euna lee and laura ling are free. this after a visit from former president bill clinton, he has met with kim jong-il among others and north korea accused them of spying and illegally entering the country. word is now they have been released or ordered to be released after a visit to korea by former president bill clinton. and we obviously are getting a lot of reaction and waiting for reaction, official word from the white house. but right now we have a planned guest with us and that is of course transportation secretary ray la hood, we booked the secretary to talk about cash for clunkers and where this is going, but i've got to get your reaction quickly to this. what do you have to say. >> this is thrilling, it's a wonderful opportunity for these two women to come back to america and these things usually develop when you send somebody with very strong diplomatic skills and certainly nobody as

because right now north korea is under u.n. sanctions again because of its testing of the nuclear device and its firing of the missiles between april and may. and it has said publicly that it doesn't want to restart the six party talks. however, president -- or rather kim jong-il, apparently, according to the journalist himself who called home in the summer in july said that they would be granted amnesty if such a high-profile emissary such as president clinton would come to north korea. perhaps there's a message transmitted. perhaps there would be some room back to the six-party talks with the u.s. and the others to those talk. very interested in getting under way again to continue the disarmament of north korea's nuclear program. >> we'll see whether or not this is one step forward in perhaps coming to some sort of international agreement down the road or whether this was just an isolated incident for the two families. christiane amanpour, cnn chief international correspondent on the phone from france this morning. thanks, ch

we could feel your love all the way in north korea. it is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. it is what sustained our faith that we would come home. the past 140 days has been the most difficult, heart wrenching time of our lives. we have very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of north korea and we are happy to be home and we are so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet, private time getting reacquainted with our families. thank you so much [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the family has asked me to say a few words and on their behalf all of us at -- and on behalf of the staff and families of current tv and my cofounder joel hyatt, we want to welcome laura and euna home. we want to thank president bill clinton for undertaking this mission and performing it so skillfully and all the members of his team who played key roles in this. also to president obama, laura mentioned this, but president obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved in this humanitarian eff

at a time when north korea's trying to find ways to -- the president of north korea, who's gotten a coup out of this visit by clinton, is trying to shore up his domestic base, leave the north korean power that he has to his son. there may be some turmoil, some dissent. so everybody wins, but the biggest win is the pictures we're seeing of the women coming home, and their families. they're wonderful families. i've dealt with them, with lisa ling. they approached this diplomatically. they sensitized the american people. they were respectful. so, it's a great moment right now. >> as somebody who has negotiated in the past, put yourself in bill clinton's shoes for a moment and give us a sense of what he must be feeling. >> well, he's -- he's ecstatic, because i know that the north koreans wanted him to come while he was president -- >> governor we're going to have to interrupt you. euna lee is about to speak. i'm sorry that is laura thing. >> 30 hours ago, euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. and then, suddenly, we

north korea sending a message. they want to talk with us and we need to talk with them and, together, we can release a lot of pressure off south korea and the peninsula and perhaps reduce the -- perhaps reduce the nuclear threat. we must hope in that way. president barack obama, his own insecurity that allows him to effectively use the clintons and not marginalize them and not afraid to use them. a less secure man would not effectively use the clintons and he is doing it in a much significant way and he deserves congratulations as well. >> reverend, a pleasure and thank you for spending a piece of your morning with us and making our coverage and giving our coverage the richness and quality that you give it when you join us. thank you for that and enjoy your day. >>> the contrast, again, stark following breaking developments on that shooting in pennsylvania at a health club. it was at suburban pittsburgh. three women shot and killed before a gunman turned the gun on himself. alison cartville is there with the latest

we do care about north korea. we don't want war in north korea.peal, trying to create something between the official negotiations and the moral appeal. >> reverend jackson, this is stephen a. smith here, sir. i got to ask you. give us a play-by-play. what is it that you could go in there or former president clinton could go in there and do as a private citizen that the administration itself can't do to facilitate the release of hostages. give us the play-by-play that may be exercised. >> well, if the government goes in, you immediately into hardline negotiations. in this case, about nuclear development, about north and south korean negotiations, about trade, about possible military options. so it's a very hard-nosed deal. but they still want some opening, some communications outlet, hopefully, about someone who can get this side of the story out to the public. i remember we got looped into the goodman out of syria, president reagan said before i went, you shouldn't go because you will not get him but if you get him, bring him back. so the syrians

>> i think it was important to north korea. i don't know how important it was to thehenited states. >> i was just going to say. it's also interesting who accompanied president clinton. he was accompanied by john podesta who was former white house chief of staff and also the transition director for president obama. he was accompanied by a former high-ranking state department official who is a specialist in korean affairs. no government offffials-- current government officials-- but a pretty good, powerful team of people who are experienced in north korea and would be good observers of kim jong il and how he's acting. >> rose: is it also true that the former president was met by oh high-level officials, the chief nuclear negotiator and the vice parliamentary speaker? that he got some kind of state dinner? that they really treated this as a big-time visit beyond the release of these two people? >> yes, clearly. >> yes, that is true. and nuclear experts that i've talked to have identified the people who greeted him at the airport a

and north korea? that's a step. >> well, we do have some channels to talk with north korea, and as the background briefing received from high administration officials made clear overnight, when the message came to us from the young women themselves to their families, to former vice president gore, and then to the administration, that sending my husband would be the best way to ensure their release, of course we took that very seriously, discussed it, the white house reached out, as they said, to my husband to ask him if he'd be willing to do that. there were briefings about it. but in order to manage the logistics of it, it did require communication with channels representing the north korean government. that's not the first time, nor will it be the last, that something like that happens. but we would like to see our conversations back in a broader context. >> and as you can see, they were very excited but she's trying to send a signal that this could be a breakthrough if north korea makes that choice

imagine this, there she is captive in north korea. she calls him and he missed the call but he did get the message. he played it on the answering machine. he said it was very emotional. imagine missing that phone call. >> he is not going to have to worry about missing her tomorrow morning. randy kay in los angeles. the former president's jet landing tomorrow morning. safe to say we will learn more when that jet does touchdown. there are so many questions including how the women were treated, how they fell into north korean hands and what was done to win their release. this story is far from over. here is what we do know from the beginning. march 17th, american journalists laura ling and euna lee are near the border between china and north korea working on a story for current tv when they are suddenly arrested possibly after crossing into north korea, accused of being spied and imprisonened. back home two shattered families plea for their release including laura's sister fellow journalist lisa ling. >> what has been the hardest part fo

with him, american journalist detained by north korea. he secured their release tuesday following a meeting with the country's leader kim jong-il. senior sources say north korea indicated in advance they would free the journalist is mr. clinton made the visit. >> the two american journalists at the heart of what amounted to a mercy visit by former president bill clinton, months after sentenced to 12 years hard labor and north korea, laura ling and euna lee are on their way home, travel with the man looking to save them. they are on their way to los angeles where they will be united with their families. laura ling's father said he was overjoyed that his daughter was on her way home. >> i am so glad and all thankful to the prayers and thoughts of the people. i'm very thankful to the state department. very thankful for the government for doing all they can to gain the release. >> mr. clinton arrived in north korea tuesday with -- for a surprise meeting with kim jong- il. his mission to free the two journalists, giving jail sentence for illeg

wants talks with north korea, and north korea wants to normalize north korea/u.s. relations through dialogue and with jim kongil's physical condition getting better. it will eventually lead to a better relaonship. so signs are good. >> reporter: kim jong-il, the north korean leader, is thought to have suffered a stroke a year ago and his improving health is important to better relations. he's been seen at recent public engagements and is said to be enthusiastic about better times with the u.s. both to help the economy of his impoverished country and to improve relations with the south and the right-wing government of president lee. the north has announced the ending of its self-imposed blockade and the resumption of unions have divided families split between north and south which were suspended in 2007. with the launch of the narrow rocket, south korea underlining its place as a modern, progressive country. it's light years away from where the north istoid. maybe now a change of heart and a willingness to engage with the outside world. but with its history of brink

north korea tested a long-range ballistic missile on april 5. it then tested a small nuclear device the next month. on june 12, the u.n. responded with unanimous economic sanctions. for all that, north korea could enhance its international stature because it let the women go. >> they're playing all sides of this very well. they've held these two women, had a kangaroo trial and have basically used them as diplomatic pawns. >> reporter: kim reportedly suffered a stroke last year and may be battling pancreatic cancer. some think he is raising tensions with the nuclear arms program as a way of securing the leaders' job for his youngest son, or a way of protesting ever-tightening international sanctions. north korea only makes a deal when it expects to get something so you have to wonder what it expects for releasing these journalists because it will demand something. katie? >> couric: barry petersen. barry, thanks very much. for the families of laura ling and euna lee the past four and a half months had to be excruciating. late today they put out a

i think north korea would not have the former president of the united states come to north korea, sitwithout those two women he came for. i think has been wired very much with hillary clinton and with the national security council and with president obama. the north koreans are saying, mr. clinton, i think it might be more than that, mr. clinton brought a message from obama and the talks were exhaustive. which means that bill clinton may be sitting down as a negotiator about renewing the six party talks with north korea on nuclear weapons. it looks like after all the bad blood between hillary clinton and kim jong-il that we may have new -- >> former president clinton was carrying a message from barack obama and the white house has been very careful not to make any comments, again, because they say they don't want to jeopardize this. pat, is there a problem here? because we're looking at a similar situation in iran, now freelance journalists who intended to go and cover the elections in the kurdish part of iraq, crosses the border into iran, they are being detained and questioned by au

he arrived in north korea this morning.ra ling and euna lee were sentenced to 12 years in prison after they were accused of illegally crossing the border. >>> a rocket hit kabul this morning. the city has been relatively violence free compared to the rest of afghanistan. the taliban said there will be more attacks before this month's elections there. >>> president obama celebrated the new gi bill with hundreds of young vets in virginia yesterday. he called it a moral obligation to our servicemen and women. the updated bill expands iraq and afghanistan. former president bush signed it last year. >>> those are just a few of the stories we're following today. first i wanted to see how you are and check up on you. morning, sunshine. i'm robin meade. >>> well, breaking news. one expert says former president bill clinton would not be in north korea this morning without some kind of deal on the table. clinton is trying to get two american journalists released. laura ling and euna lee have been in prison since march. they're facing

this is touching for her as well as north korea. she recently described north

policy on north korea and its nuclear program will not change. bill whitaker begins our coverage tonight. >> reporter: as the plane carrying journalists laura ling and euna lee and former president bill clinton approached the airport in burbank, anticipation was obvious on the faces in the gestures of the women's family members. as the plane taxied into the hangar in the golden light of dawn, the excitement was best summed up by lee's four-year-old daughter hannah, holding her father's hand, skiping to the stairway for the moment they had waited almost five months to see. >> ladies and gentlemen, please help me in welcoming home laura ling and euna lee. >> reporter: hannah hugged her mother and wouldn't let go. the two journalists, isolated for 140 days suddenly thrust before a throng of cameras. >> 30 hours ago, euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. >> reporter: which made them all the more anxious when they were suddenly called into a meeting by their captors, not knowi

and north korea relations? very interesting discussion with former secretary of defense william cohen on that and might take some time to realize what the implications are and would love to hear from you on our blog cnn.com/heidi. just go ahead and send us in your blogs here and pull them up and let you know what everybody is saying about it. also give us a call at the hotline number. that is 1-877-742-5760. looking forward to hearing from everybody on this. (announcer) this is nine generations of the world's most revered luxury sedan. this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-class. this is mercedes-benz. >>> went to an aerobics class, open fire killing three women and wounding three others. just outside of pittsburgh with the very latest this morning. so, susan, boy, it's just an unbelievable story. we are actually learning about the suspect, th

north korea has repeatedly demanded that the u.s.e and laura ling crossing the border into their territory were wrong. secretary of state hillary clinton did so in public but then the situation turned from bad to worse after she described the regime a child demanding attention which north korea shot back saying she is like an old person who ought to be wandering in a grocery store. everything is about pride and pace saving. to them different presidents of different views cannot be chosen by the people. for the north korean president to see that he flu to pyongyang, it gave me a good reason to let them go. >> the capital of afghanistan has been hit by a predawn missile attack less than throw weeks before presidential election there is. witnesses say as many of seven rained down with the city of kabul. other missiles were apparently aimed the other diplomatic targets and afghan government children. >> the worsening situation in afghanistan could lead to a call for more u.s. troops and resources for the defense secretary. here's martha

may have given up to north korea. peter: americans delighted that these young journalists have been returned. it's great to have americans back on our soil soon of the but there is a question about what price will be paid for this negotiation. clearly bill clinton did a tremendous job in getting these people back. and i think one of the conditions of his trip was knowing that in fact, he would be successful in bringing the americans back. but in doing so, have we restored north korea to the community of nations? and they put out an absolute propaganda statement that the former president of the united states had basically confessed to the crimes of these two young women who were doing nothing else but being american journalists. steve: clinton expressed words of sincere apology to kim jong il for the hostile acts committed by the girls. clinton courteously conveyed to kim jong il an ernest request of the u.s. government to leniently pardon them. peter: i don't think he admitted that they did it. steve: bill clinton wou

right now, north korea has been flat for heavy u.s.ns. >> thank you, christiane amanpour. >>> captain michael scott speicher's remains found in iraq but his family is still hoping to find answers in washington. having the right tools is crucial to being able to manage your diabetes properly. it's very important for me to uh check my blood sugar before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does micromanage where my blood sugar needs to be. i'm nick jonas and never slowing down is my simple win. it's the chevy open house. and now, with the cash for clunkers program, a great deal gets even better. let us recycle your older vehicle, and you could qualify for an additional $3500 or $4500 cash back... on top of all other offers.. on a new, more fuel efficient chev

had with north korea.ct, bill clinton, until the debacle of 2000 election, bill clinton was planning on visiting pyeongyang to end his presidency. that didn't work out. so, the -- the -- if the -- if kim jong-il is -- let's look at it this way -- a few months before they took the two reporters in custody, they were getting a cold shoulder from washington. they were getting not even -- even a whiff of -- of warmth from the obama administration. and now we have bill clinton who's at a very high profile visit is coming that adds legitimacy in their eyes to their way -- their political way of life. so it's an all-win situation for them. sure, they'd rather have -- i would think they would rather have hillary. but bill ain't bad. >> if you're looking at the optics of all of this, it doesn't get better than bill clinton showing up on the ground there. a quid pro quo for north korea. they never do something for nothing. what do you think the quid pro quo is here? the chief nuclear negotiator is one of the people

they didn't want to do business with north korea, and the result was north korea became a nuclear weaponte on their watch. they exploded a nuclear weapon. president obama came into office saying he was going to pursue diplomacy where he thinks it could achieve results. this is a perfect way to test the willingness of north korea to change its policies. first and foremost, by getting these two individuals out of jail and back home and, secondly, it may be that north korea has a message for the new president about what it's willing to do in terms of coming in from the cold, from the isolation from the world, and i don't think there's any harm done here. on the contrary, i think that the families of those involved and the journalists are going to see -- offer a lot of thanks to president clinton for being willing to make this trip. >> jamie, our colleague at nbc says his sources are telling him north korea got what they wanted in that they get acknowledgment and they have obviously a popular former president on the ground there. how does this move forward with what we've seen today? >> firs

pardoned by north korea's leader.what exactly did former president clinton do and say to secure their release? and who is that manly swimmer, you ask? and how about vladimir putin. he's showing off his unclothed side. that's tonight's shot when "360" continues. mom was diagnosed with moderate alzheimer's. it was tough news to hear. everything changed. i didn't know what to do. right about then, our doctor mentioned the exelon patch. he said it releases medicine continuously for 24 hours. he said it could help with her cognition which includes things like memory, reasoning, communicating and understanding. (announcer) the most common side effects of exelon patch are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases. patients may experience loss of appetite or weight. patients who weigh less than 110 pounds may experience more side effects. people at risk for stomach ulcers or who take certain other medicine should talk to their doctor because serious sto

here in south korea, opinion is divided. some commentators are welcoming the visit, suggesting it could herald a return to dialogue on broader issues. others fear it is simply rewarding bad behavior and will be exploited for maximum propaganda value by p'yongyang. there is, though, so far no sign of that. bill clinton's arrival was covered by north korea's evening television news, but not until after apparently more newsworthy items such as the improving quality standards at this biscuit factory. john somewheres, bbc news, seoul. >> an analyst at leeds university joins us now but the web can. how do you read this? is this an attempt by the north koreans to get a dialogue going? >> i think it probably is. as was just said, almost everybody who knows what is going on, i would think that the journalists -- unless the talks have been going on with the delegations with the u.n. in new york, so at the very least they will go home -- the route -- >> on the other hand, i suspect that the north koreans probably want to focus on more

what do you think north korea wants here? >> i think it's pretty clear what north korea wants.hey want some kind of ease in the tensions. the sanctions, i think, that are -- >> but they've created some of the tension. >> i know, i know. they've absolutely, they are, i mean, i wont say 100% responsible, because we are responsible in part, but that's intentional. but they created a tremendous amount of tension with their nuclear tests, with the missile tests, and i think they found themselves in a bit of a box, because the resulting response that we've had, which includes the u.n. sanctions, has started to hurt them. in weird, little ways, that if you understand north korea, kind of make sense. they have a system where it's a very elite, structured system. the elites have strong control over what goes on in that country. and apparently, we've seized some yachts, some things of that nature, things that matter to them. >> and i should mention, you've actually traveled there as a staffer, so you've had the experience in country. what do you think the journalists have dealt with over

there is major news out of north korea tonight. two american journalists, euna lee and laura ling, who were arrested in march while reporting along the border of china and north korea, have been pardoned. that announcement came late this afternoon an former president bill clinton made an unannounced visit to north korea, and then held a series of high-level talk, including a rare chat with north korean president kim jong-il. well with dramatic news of the pardoning of the reporters made headlines today the formers meeting with north korean official his far greater implications. the clinton visit and analysis of it, that's our "lead focus" tonight, beginning with "worldfocus" producer feliciano. >> reporter: the former president was greeted with warm handshakes and flowers as he arrived in pyongyang today. the fact that clinton was greeted at the airport by north korea's chief nuclear negotiator and then had a rare meeting with north korean leader suggested that his talks went well beyond his efforts to free the two reporters. in fa

bill clinton went to seoul, south korea, in may he met former president of south korea whom he had worked with as president. he said you're the guy to go to north korea and not only release the two, get the release of the two imprisoned journalists, but open up a dialogue with north korea, set the stage for negotiations. so bill clinton went back, this became known in south korea, the north koreans now that kim dae-jung had made this proposal. he goes back to washington and makes it known to hillary and to others that he wants to go. and this is what led to the whole thing. you've had a debate really in the administration since late may over whether it's appropriate for the husband of the secretary of state to go to a mission like this, and also on nervousness, because it's quite clear that bill clinton has a very proprietary feeling about the relationship with north korea. when he was president, we froze the nuclear program from 1994 to 2002. this was one of his big successes. so i think that there's been a lot of soul searching within the administration, they are very uncomfortable abou

good news out of north korea.lists laura ling and euna lee, imprisoned since mid-march, facing 12 years in a north korean prison labor camp, are now free. they are on their way home. when the word came across the wire at 7:33 p.m. eastern, there was a little burst of applause that went through our staff newsroom. these young women are heading home on a private plane with former president bill clinton, who in a surprise move arrived in north korea yesterday. while the white house characterized mr. clinton's visit as a, quote, solely private mission to secure the release of two americans, north korea, of course, treated the trip as if it was a state visit, or at least a high-level state function. north korea's chief nuclear negotiator actually met with mr. clinton when he arrived on the tarmac. kim jong-il reportedly hosted a banquet for him in pyongyang. within hours of that meeting with kim jong-il, the dictator issued a special pardon for euna lee and laura ling. as to what was said during these meetings, well, i

so we wish the people of north korea well.e just want to make sure that the government of north korea is operating within the basic rules of the international community that they know is expected of them. >> and you can watch all of chuck's interview with president obama on our website, msnbc.com, part of msnbc's award-winning elkhart project up. >> next, a horse of a different color. one that can jump over a car? the horse is fine. we'll tell you all about that. >> but first, the fed wants the public's help in finding an illinois bank robber they're calling the scarecrow bandit. can you guess why they call him that? he's dressed like a scarecrow. smearing his face with mud, waving a sawed off broomstick. if you've seen this man, the fbi would like to talk to you. to stay on top of my game after 50, i switched to a complete multivitamin with more. only one a day men's 50+ advantage... has gingko for memory and concentration. plus support for heart health. that's a great call. one a day men's. and my dog bailey and i love to ha

both women were arrested in north korea in march. they were charged with entering the country illegally and had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. former president clinton convinced kim jong-il to pardon them. >> 18 hours ago, euna lee and i were prisoners in north korea. we feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. and then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. we were taken to a location and when we walked in through the doors, we saw standing before us president bill clinton. >> boy, can you imagine how they were overcome at that moment? lee and ling were employed by the media company owned by al gore. president obama watched this joyous reunion on television as we all did here. he said he is breathing a sigh of relief now that the women are back home. >> i want to just make a brief comment about the fact that the two young journalists, euna lee and laura ling are safely back with their families. we are obviously extraordinarily relieved. i had an opportunity to speak with the familie

predent bill clton andorth korea's kim jong-il. reportsay two jaile amican joualists have been freed. australian policeelief they have foileda major terrost pl. fouruspects acce of links with somali extremist. >> a won goes ontrial accused of dressing indi ently. she wore trours in a restaunt. welcome to "bbc world news broadcast to our viewers on pbs in ameri and around the gle. coming up late whatind of policingo you call this? a new human rights report says too many of india place are abusive and filing at thei job. hollywood actss takes send moo on e rd. >> cinema is for everybody and everhere. we are knowing how few opportunits there are for people realize how incredibly wise cinema is. >> hello. a secretive come nist ate with nucar ambitis which has be playing fast and lse th the rest of the wld. today they have been pying ho to bilclinton, the most senior visitor in a dade. he metnorth korean leader, kim jong-il and secured a rdon for the journalist aested. we have this report from waington. >> bill inton arrived in north ko

and north korea. for now family members are anxious for a long-awaited reunion. >> i can't wait. >> minutes, hours. >> reporter: lee and ling are expected to arrive here at bob hope airport sometime at 5:00 this morning. laura ling's mother says she cannot wait to hold her daughter in her arms once again. >> this morning on the early show, the latest on the deadly shooting at the health club in pittsburgh. [sluuurrrrpppp!] irresistible. now try new watermelon and cantaloupe flavors. from post party sickness syndrome? there's a revolutionary cure. it's called cascade all-in-one actionpacs. and it's like adding the ultimate button to your dishwasher. because it has the power to pre-wash... dissolve... and rinse the whole mess away. so in the morning your dishes will feel like new again. and so will you. cascade complete all-in-one actionpacs. for a perfect clean, every time. announcer: no surprises. no shocks. dulcolax stool softener provides stimulant-free constipation relief that's gradual and comfort

will get in bed with south korea and the korea yunified will be with the u.s.t's pretty much a mess and good for president clinton getting on a jet and figuring it out. >> is it undercutting pax americana? did we show weakness sending clinton over there or underscoring our theme of a newly rising american power? no. i believe this is a sign of weakness. >> really? >> i do. any time you have an official american going a country like north korea. we should have nothing to do with them and ignore them completely. >> you let those two young women rot in jail because of politics? >> you find other ways to get those two women out, don't involve groveling before one of those brutal dictators. >> any time a former just president goes somewhere -- >> negotiating, the right wing, no disrespect. the right wing has taken such and ahistorical approach to negotiations, groveling, talking to another nation isn't grov groveling. did ronald reagan grovel when he talked to the soviets? did richard nixon -- this notion we only talk to our friends is completely unamerican in our h