CNN: Euna Lee and Laura Ling on American Soil

CNN is reporting that Euna Lee and Laura Ling have arrived in California aboard former President Bill Clinton's plane.

An aircraft carrying Clinton, Euna Lee and Laura Ling touched down shortly before 6 a.m. PT (9 a.m. ET) amid tight security at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank outside Los Angeles.

Crowds of dignitaries and journalists gathered for the arrival. The aircraft will be brought into a hangar for a scheduled news conference.

CNN also got some fresh reaction from the families and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

Doug Ling, Laura Ling's father, reacted to the news of his daughter's release outside his home in Carmichael, California, saying it was "one of the best days in my life."

"I figured, sooner or later, they'd be back," he said.

In Los Angeles, family friend Welly Yang said the Lings had "done everything they could, while respecting the North Korean government, to try and get Laura home."

He predicted that Ling would remain a journalist. "Despite this terrifying experience, I can't imagine that Laura would give up her passion to tell stories that otherwise wouldn't be heard."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed her relief that the two women were released. She spoke from Nairobi, Kenya, where she is taking part in a multination visit to Africa.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane, and everything went well. We are extremely excited that they will be reunited soon when they touch down in California," she said. "It is just a good day to be able to see this happen."

Bill Richardson: Both Sides Won in Clinton's Trip to North Korea

Here's former Gov. Bill Richardson's take on former President Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea to secure the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. His main point is that the United States got a lessening of tensions between the two countries, as well as the freedom of the two journalists. North Korea got what it can call international stature in hosting a former American president on its soil.

South Korean Media: What About Our 300 Hostages Held by North Korea?

South Korean journalists in the United States seem pleased about Euna Lee and Laura Ling's release. But they are asking a bigger question: How about the approximately 300 South Koreans the North has been holding as hostages for years?

"It is very difficult to free our own South Korean hostages because North Korea intentionally treats our government differently. We are not America," Jong Hoon Kim, editor of Korea Daily in Atlanta told New America Media's Anthony Advincula and Eunji Jang.

The American government, Kim added, is willing to make negotiations. "South Korean President Lee Myung Bak is conservative. He doesn't want to negotiate. Under the Obama administration, American politics is more democratic and open to peace talks."

The result, Kim said, is that hundreds of South Korean hostages languish in North Korean prisons. These hostages – the most recent of whom include two fishermen – have been taken in small groups over time and stand little chance of release.

Albert Hong, reporter for Korea Daily in Washington, D.C., said that North Korea wants to show the world that its government can make a deal with America, the most powerful country in the world.

"North Korea is in dire situation, politically. They have the missiles and the world doesn't like it. So a negotiation (like the release of the American journalists) could alleviate the pressure," said Hong.

Swedish Ambassador to North Korea Visits Euna Lee and Laura Ling

Euna Lee and Laura Ling, the two detained American journalists in North Korea, were visited by the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in Washington.

The United States has not received a full report on the meeting from Mats Foyer, the ambassador, Kelly said. He reiterated that Washington continues to press Kim Jong Il’s regime to release the pair.

Sweden represents U.S. interests in North Korea in the absence of diplomatic relations.

The two women were abducted along the Chinese border on March 17 while reporting for Current TV, co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore, on the human trafficking of women. They were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for "hostile acts," presumably crossing the border. Diplomats in Beijing have said that it is questionable that the pair actually crossed the border.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee's Trial to Start in About an Hour, AP Reports

The Associated Press reported that the North Korea's official news agency says the trial of two American journalists facing criminal charges will begin soon.

The Korean Central News Agency said Thursday that the trial will begin at 3 p.m. North Korean time (which is 7 a.m. GMT or 2 a.m. Eastern).

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested in March near the North Korean border while on a reporting for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV media venture. They are accused of illegal entry and "hostile acts."