Clinton Meets With Kim Jong Il

(NEWSER) - The same sprawling network of business and political contacts that caused trouble with Hillary Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state helped her husband secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the Washington Post reports. Private donors paid for Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea, and the former president handpicked the team that came with him, which included his former chief of staff. More»

(NEWSER) - The release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling has catapulted Bill Clinton back onto the world stage, but as the New York Times reports, the former president—and husband of the secretary of State—was only selected for the role a few days ago. Hillary Clinton proposed several envoys for mission, including Al Gore and Bill Richardson, before her husband emerged as the North Koreans' preferred choice. It was Gore, whose Current TV employs Lee and Ling, who asked Clinton to travel to Pyongyang. More»

(NEWSER) - Bill Clinton is in North Korea, where he will attempt to secure the freedom of two American journalists imprisoned since March, Reuters reports, citing South and North Korean news agencies. "As soon as he arrives, he will be entering negotiations," said a source. The White House and State Department declined comment. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced in June to 12 years' hard labor. They work for Current TV, co-founded by Clinton's VP, Al Gore. More»

... and Hillary won't leave for Middle East until Saturday

(NEWSER) - It looks like Bill Clinton will only spend one night in the hospital after undergoing an emergency heart procedure today—and wife Hillary will merely postpone her diplomatic trip to the Middle East by a day. “He’s in good spirits, and we hope to have him go home tomorrow,” says the New York doctor who performed the stent procedure on the former president. “He’s fine,” a Clinton source tells CNN . More»

(NEWSER) - Today's warm embrace between Bill Clinton and Al Gore was just like old times, writes Adam Nagourney in the New York Times. The two have largely been on the outs since 2000, but they shared a "long and emotional hug" after Clinton's North Korean trip. While they've had spotty contact in recent years, Clinton readily agreed to the mission when Gore called 10 days ago. And Gore was there leading the applause upon Clinton's return. More»