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

we'll talk with an expert for a look at the picture in iran and north korea. what will former president clinton's trip mean for relations with korea and the efforts to get those three out of iran? that is coming up. now to washington and more transparency issues for the president as he celebrates his 48th birthday today. his administration refusing to release sales information from its cash for clunkers program, information that could either prove or undercut the success of the rebate program. as you probably know, the program allows people to get thousands of dollars toward a new fuel-efficient car when those people trade in their old gas guzzlers. it's no doubt become the most visible result of any of the obama administration stimulus programs. major garrett is working the details on this. first off, major, why aren't they releasing this information? >> well, the white house says through press secretary gibbs it's too busy administering the program to spend a lot of time compiling the data on an hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis of how many dealersships are requ

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

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 lea

but in the past, governor bill richardson of new mexico have stayed high profile trips to north korea north to secure the release either of remains in the past or of actual live detainees, hostages, however you want to term it. it appears it may have come from that. we still don't have the back story because the white house is being very mum about this. and they want to wait, i think, until, as robert emphasized today in the briefing. when president clinton is no longer in north korea, they will have something to say, so it does seem they want to wait until they have the two journalists in the former president's custody or whatever you want to call it. >> does that seem very likely, though, chuck? >> reporter: the history, yes, i think there seems to be some optimism on this front. as you can tell, while robert said very little at the briefing, he did say, look, they have always thought that the nuclear issue in trying to negotiate with the north koreans is totally separate from when there is a situation like this, when there is in this case two americans detained by the north korean

>> 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

he sat down with north korea's twice to negotiate the release of americans. what this could mean on the international stage. >> north koreans, whenever they want something, send a signal, release american prisoners. they've done it with me and others. they want a high-level envoy, and in this case kim jong-il, the ailing leader, wanted the highest possible envoy. he had tried to get president clinton to come while clinton was president. president clinton almost came a few days before he left office, but he didn't. and so what kim jong-il gets is a former president to shore up his domestic base and that's what happened. it's a step forward and tensions are diffused within the international community because north korea and america had this brief spate of decent relations over the two journalists. but on the whole, i am sure no negotiations took place. but possibly president clinton and kim jong-il at least talked about the two countries getting together, face-to-face, bilateral discussions on our differences. no discussions, per se, there. but since we haven't

in this case the swedish embassy in the capital of north korea, pyongyang. it is a back channel, a way things can be negotiated in advance of meetings because face and respect are such important aspects of asian cultures but specifically the north korean regime these things have to be worked out in advance. if there is a meeting we should know the results and everybody should live up to that result and that's the communication the swedish ambassador played. >> we have been waiting for almost 30 minutes now. the plane has landed carrying former president clinton and current tv journalist euna lee and laura ling back to the united states. they have been in captivity for 140 days according to the north korean authorities. the two women while on assignment illegally crossed the border and were arrested and jailed an put on trial and sentenced to 12 years hard labor and again 140 days later, after a lot of back door negotiations ongoing as josh mentioned with the help of the swedish ambassador it was related to the united states that kim jong-il was willing to do

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

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

he ordered their release hours after former president bill clinton arrived in north korea for a surprise visit. jeffrey brown has our lead story report. >> reporter: the north korean announcement followed a day of ceremonies and meetings begining with mr. clinton's arrival at the airport in pyong-yang. in short order he met with kim, who rarely meets with foreigners, and who had an apparent stroke a year ago and remains in ill health. but state-run media reported kim's held exhaustive talks with mr. clinton. later the former president met with laura ling and euna lee, the two journalists work for current tv, a news organization founded by mr. clinton's former vice president, al gore. ling and lee were arrested in march along the china-north korea border, they were convicted in june of hostile acts and sentenced to 12 years at hard labor. today obama administration officials stress the private nature of mr. clinton's visit. at the white house, spokesman gibbs reiterated that there would be no comment while mr. clinton was in north korea. >> this obviously is a very sensitive topic. we wil

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

the top military commander in north korea met with clinton in 2000. nother expert told "the l.a. times" that the north koreans have a lot of nostalgia for the clinton administration. >> you hear that former president clinton was not the first choice. who would have been? >> we're hearing from that north korea balked at the first two suggestions. president obama's administration offered to send former vice presidential gore to start, the founder of current tv, where the two women work. she also says that new mexico governor bill richardson was offered. he helped secure a release of an american in 2003. >>> a big name in the senate has come out against the nomination of sonia sotomayor. john mccain says sotomayor is a judicial activist. >> an individual who doesn't appreciate the common sense limitations of judicial power in our democratic system of government ultimately lacks a key qualification for a life time appointment to the bench. for this reason, and no other, i'm unable to support judge sotomayor's nomination. >> the senate could begin debate on

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

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

it comes at a time when north korea and the united states have very tense relationships, especially northith the rest of the world, because of its ramped up nuclear testing and nuclear activities. there was a test of a nuclear device over the last several months and several ballistic missile tests. that has but north korea on the wrong side of the international community with heavy duty sanctions imposed on them. we don't know whether president clinton went with anything other than a human tary mission to get the journalists released who were working for the news station of his former vice president, al gore. whether he took any message or brought back any. the white house is denying he took any message from president obama. but to go back to 1994 under the clinton's own administration, jimmy carter went to north korea to resolve and diffuse a crisis at that time. he went as ai priva private cit. >> i apologize that for that. we are monitoring the white house briefing. just as you were explaining the situation here in north korea, we are listening to that white house briefing seeing if, i

jack pritchard is a former envoy to north korea. >> he was a safe choice. and what i mean by that is president clinton would not go off the reservation. >> reporter: within days of hearing the north korean request former vice president gore asked former president clinton if he would be willing to travel and obtain their release. and just days later, on the weekend of july 24, national security advisor james jones approached mr. clinton with the same request. the former and current presidents had no direct conversation before the trip. but the white house did impose conditions on mr. clinton's visit, only the second by a former u.s. president. one, he would travel as a privzee ueticin and not a reprveentitita of the obama administration. two, that no other negotiations take place, including topics like north korea's nuclear weapons program and controversial missile tests in april and may. but given the former president's interest in the issue, most experts say it's likely the subject came up. >> to have president clinton in pyongyang, the first high-level vis

a rare rolling out of the official red carpet, with pictures north korea quickly provided to the outside world and with claims already in dispute. the north says clinton courts youly conveyed a verbal message from president obama. the white house says not true, that clinton had no such message. indeed, u.s. officials insist this is a personal trip not official. one reason his plane had no markings. the mission successfully secured the freedom of both american journalists who allegedly crossed into north korea and, after a hasty trial, were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. they were working for media company current t.v. co-owned by clinton's vice president al gore who reportedly asked clinton to go. ling's sister lisa ling, also a journalist, organized rallies for the women's release. >> that's why we are all out here tonight to ask for amnesty but also to ask for forgiveness. >> reporter: the women were arrested on march 17 and since then tensions have soared. north korea tested a long-range ballistic missile on april 5. it then tested a small nuclear device the next month. on june

your healthcare provider for 2-layer ambien cr. >> former president bill clinton has arrived in north koreast laura ling and euna lee. >> there's every reason to blow the north koreans will look favorably on his request. >> i think it's a very wise choice because he presided over the high water mark of north korea's relationship with the united states at the end of his term. and the north koreans invited him to come to -- or to go to pyongyang. he is accepting that invitation, although it's slightly more than nine years later. it's a very wise choice and i'm quite sure that the journalists will accompany him on his return trip. >> you may remember the north koreans arrested lee and ling when they strayed over the border while shooting a documentary. they were convicted of hostile acts and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor >> ten days after that sentencing, laura lee's sister, lisa, spoke about that devastating decision. >> before the verdict as we heard you had a phone call, there were swedish intermediaries who were able to see your sister and euna. you have heard anything since then? >>

soil they never intended to cross into north korea. d so we know they're sorry, we are very sorry, and we hope that the north korean government now will show compassion and just let them come home. >> lisa, does it concern you that the north korean government is saying they were there for a smooth campaign, not acknowledging they were independent journalists? >> all we can say is they are journalists and they were doing their job. my sister has been a journalist for years. and that's really all we can say. you know, we weren't in the courtroom, we don't know any sort of specifics other than what was released. we just given the fact the girls have apologized profusely, they will let the girls come home to us, it's been three months and that's been too long for us. >> and meanwhile, iran is confirming it's holding three americans and they were arrested for crossing illegally from iraq, that group says they got lost hiking, but iran's state run-run media is doubting those claims. hillary clinton is leaning on tehran to release them. we're

the longer the regime held them the more and more people looked at the legal system in north korea. s didn't like that. the longer they held the women the meaner and vindictive kim jong il looked. they wanted to off load these women. it was in their self-interest. >> we should point out interesting points in the "washington post" by former u.n. ambassador john bolton. he said mr. clinton paid "a form of political ransom." he writes the clinton trip is a significant propaganda victory for north korea. whether or not he carried an official message from president obama. despite decades of not negotiating for terrorists, president obama chose to negotiate and sent a former president. making north korea out to be terrorists, these women to be hostages and this is a bad move. >> north korea has not engaged in a major terrorist act for about two decades. they have done awful things in that time. look at what happened since last april. they had the long range missile test the nuclear test, the renunciation of the armistice. >> they have been busy. >> then we send an emissary. that doesn't lo

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

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

gets from bill clinton could be invaluable in terms of our negotiating posture in the future with north korea. >> i wouldn't agree at all. i doubt that president clinton saw anything they hadn't carefully thought through. he's dealing with their north korean nuclear arms negotiator who we talk to all the time in the six-power talks. their purpose was to get bilateral direct contact. they just did that. so i mean it's good news we got the two journalists back, but it's highly unlikely that this has advanced our ability to roll back their nuclear program. >> what about the direct information on a kim jong-il, what his health is, the kind of things he said to bill clinton through the translator. isn't that valuable? >> yeah, but we could have done that with governor bill richardson who is an experienced expert. we could have done that with a lot of emissaries, not the former president of the united states who is married to the secretary of state. this was essentially an official recognition of this regime, one of the largest armies on the face of the earth. they export missiles, illegal drugs, a

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

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

nonetheless, she reiterated america's hard line regarding north korea's nuclear program. >> they have a choice. they can continue to follow a path that is filled with provocative actions, or they can decide to renew their discussions. >> in south korea, reaction to thnews of the release of lee and ling was noticeably subdued. north korea currently detained several hundred south koreans. some of whom accidentally strayed into north korean territory. others thought to be prisoners from the war of the 1950s. >> caller: far from being encouraged by the fact that these americans were let go, i think that south korea's position might be, why do they let these americans go? saying nothing about us? leaving us out in the cold as usual. refusing to talk to us. refusing to let our people -- refusing to let our people go. and so i think that this might actually be a source of concern, if not angerongst people in south korea. >> for more on this, we turn once again to charles armstrong, professor of korean studies and director of the story for korean research at colombian university. good to have

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

tonight on "worldfocus" -- >>> success, former president bill clinton makes a surprise visit to north korea and wins the release of two american journalists, but his talks with north korean leaders didn't stop there. >>> in australia, police say they have broken up a terrorist plot in which extremists plan to invade a military base and kill until they were themselves are killed. we will tell you who they say is behind the threat. >>> in sudan, what this woman is doing is considered so scandalous that she's being put on trial and could be flogged. we will tell you why. >>> and in germany, there is no ignoring the 800-pound gorilla in the womb, now when she is holding a brannew baby. we will explain why this birth means so much. >>> from the world's leading reporters and analysts, here is what's happening from around the world.uéç this is "worldfocus." made possible, in part, by the following funders -- >>> good evening, i'm martin savidge. 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 b

both women were arrested in north korea along the border with china and charged with illegally entering the country. krin on the convinced north korean leader to pardon them. >> 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 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. >> lee and ling are employed by the man behind them, former vice president al gore's media tv. he thanked president clinton and president obama for bringing them home. lisaling says the two women were kept in isolation by the north koreans and were fed rice with rocks in it. she said the journalists never meant to enter north korea in the first place. >> you know, i haven't talked specifics about what actually happened that day. we know, as we've said, that when they left u.s. soil they never intended to cross the border. as journalists when you're in the field, you never know what is going to arise. thin

we are concerned by the actions north korea engages in. that we obtained toughest support for the sanctions to be imposed on north korea. our dip prop massey, engagement with partners in the six-party talks and the u.n. is where we are putting our energy.lomacy, partners in the six-party talks and the u.n. is where we are putting our energy. at the same time, i am concerned about the future of the young women and very pleased we can see them coming home safely but our policy is in no way affected by this humanitarian mission. >> that is hillary clinton, martin, briefly. this is a moment it could go to a different direction. marten? >>> it can certainly open that up that possibility. no doubt, president clinton was talking about the nuclear program. [ inaudible ] in which diplomacy can start to work again. a couple weeks ago, as you would note, andrea, the whole question of where with the tension has gone. and today, both clintons are very much back. >> thanks so much. when we come back what is -- will we be talking about in the next 24? we

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

good news out of north korea. ists 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, it

-north korea relations? >> well it's early to tell. i'm somewhat optimistic that this could jump start the talks that stopped toward the end of last year. but what i fear is that perhaps this opportity will just lead to more talks, a return to the six-party process or some other means of just simply talking to north korea without getting to our objective, which is to completely dismantle the nuclear weapons program in north korea. >> some say that this does send the wrong message, that we are willing to negotiate with people that we have not had talks with in the past or in the recent past. do you think this does send the wrong message? >> i think it's too early to tell. i think the new administration should be commended for a measured response. it showed firmness in dealing with north korea and that a presidential visit by a former president, bill clinton, would not somehow lead to a buffet table of concessions. i don't think that is likely to happen. this is a very tough issue. north koreans are determined to keep their nuclear weapo

john, why do woo north korea care at all about letting these journalists go? y didn't they just tell president clinton to go home? >> well, i think the north koreans, they certainly want attention. they want some -- you guys still there? >> yeah, we're here. >> the north koreans want attention. they've gotten the attention of the world community, but at some point, they want to get into, we presume, a more -- dialogue, but i got to say that -- hearing -- that george bush -- too much for other countries, i never heard that one before. >> kind of broke up. how about tanya acker, front page news tomorrow, tanya, clinton the hero? >> i think it will be, and i think it should be, but i still just cannot get past this notion that we view this as a sign of weakness. >> this is not people we disagree with. these are people who kill millions of people. it's different. >> in the soviet union ronald reagan engaged the evil empire, and the berlin wall came down. we have done this. >> the berlin wall came down because he engaged them by building up the u.s. military, not be

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

president bill clinton and north korea's kim jung il. and reports say two jailed american journalists have now been freed. australian police believe they followed a major terror plot. four suspects are accused of links to somali islammists. protests in sudan. a woman goes on trial accused of dressing indecently in public. she wore trousers in a restaurant. very warm welcome to bbc world news. broadcast to our viewers on pbs in america, also around the globe. coming up later for you, what kind of policing do you call this? a new human rights report says too many of india's police are abuse and failing at their jobs. >> parts of india have been modernizing past. the police force is still antiquated, ill-equipped and underresourced and under real pressure to fight crime. that's why some offices are cutting corners. >> and it's the people's photo shoot. why one of britain's top celebrity snappers is turning his camera on a thousand members of the public. >> hello to you. right now north korea's state news agency is reporting the country's le

he has long said he wanted to engage with the north koreans but instead north korea conducted a nuclearf short and medium-range rockets. that's why some are worried about the message the north koreans might get from bill clinton's visit. >> there's no penalty for the things that they've done. we could get into a situation here of a moral hazard where by rewarding bad behavior, we're only going to get more of it. >> as students head back to classes, teachers are on alert for any sign of the h1n1 swine flu. the obama administration is expected to release new guidelines friday about what school officials should do if students do show up with symptoms. here's lisa stark. >> reporter: classes are already back in session at rockdale high in georgia. this year the principle is keeping a sharp eye on students. >> we ask them are they feeling okay. forced to stay home from work to care for their kids. the government is advising the schools to identify students and teachers who are ill and send them home. >> they're hoping to avoid the chaos of last spring's school shutdowns. lisa stark, abc news

in other words, is he still the man in charge of north korea? and that will be vital information in what is still going to be obviously a very difficult relationship as we move forward. shepard: on a side note, there is obviously a serious nuclear disturbance, negotiation, going on with north korea. and today the top nuclear negotiator for north korea greeted president clinton at the plane. >> very interesting. there appear to be two series on that. one is that kim jong il, at the very least, by sending his top nuclear negotiator to greet president clinton, wanted to create the illusion of linkage between the fate of the two women and the nuclear negotiations. the other is simply that this man has been dealing with americans for more than a decade. he speaks very good english. he was very simply the best person to go and greet president clinton. and one expert said to me today, don't worry too much into this. he may be a nuclear negotiator. he is not that high-ranking official. it would be rather like someone come together the united states, she

essentially what happened, in mid july these women were being kept in north korea. they were periodically being allowed to call home to their family. during a phone conversation in the middle of july there were laid to their parents that north korean officials said that if bill clinton were to come there, he could secure their release. that was the message. it was not outdoor, not just a senior u.s. official, apparently the north koreans asked for bill clinton by name. over the weekend of july 24, the national security agency was looking at this and how they could make it happen. how a private visit by bill clinton, if he went there and could be a done deal. this was a deal that was done well in advance. it was batted, scrub -- vetted, scrubbed compass of and they even used the swedish representation in pyongyang. at that point, after vetting this, they determined that the north koreans were serious. at that point president clinton began getting briefings. that was a briefing on essentially where they stood. he was briefed as recently as last weekend, at his house, a