The two American female journalists captured on March 17 and sentenced to 12 years of "labor reform" in June by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(DPRK) were granted an amnesty and released during former U.S. president Bill Clinton's visit to the country, the official KCNA news agency reported on August 5.
"The measure taken to release the American journalists is a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peace-loving policy," the KCNA report said.
Clinton "sincerely apologized" for the "hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it" and conveyed a request of the U.S. government to pardon them and send them home, the report said.
"Clinton courteously conveyed a verbal message of U.S. President Barack Obama expressing profound thanks for this," it added.
The DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Il met with Clinton and "had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them," the official report on Clinton's visit to Pyongyang said.
