NORTH KOREA
Date: Aug. 4
Who met: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il
Issues: Imprisoned journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee
What was accomplished: After months of careful planning and back-channel negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, Kim agreed to release two U.S. journalists his regime had been holding since March in exchange for a meet-and-greet with Bubba. The Obama administration insisted the visit was purely a humanitarian one focused on Ling and Lee, but as former North Korea negotiator Robert Gallucci told the New York Times, "It would be someplace between surprising and shocking if there wasn't some substantive discussion between the former president, who is deeply knowledgeable about the nuclear issue, and Kim Jong Il." And Clinton did debrief top White House officials about his conversation with Kim.
Whatever the two men talked about, there has been a noticeable change in behavior from North Korea since Clinton's visit. The regime, which seemed to be intentionally ramping up tensions with its southern neighbor and the United States, has made a number of conciliatory gestures in August, including restarting talks over family reunions and trade with South Korea and inviting U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang for talks. Whether Kim's new mood will last and whether it has anything to do with Clinton's visit are certainly open questions, but there does seem to be more of a basis for progress than a month ago.
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