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.

North Korea: Nuclear Arms Can Be Used as a 'Merciless Offensive Means'

North Korean issued its usual incendiary rhetoric today referring to their nuclear arsenal. But today it came with a twist.

For the first time, North Korea used the term "offensive" in describing how it might use its nuclear arsenal.

"Our nuclear deterrent will be a strong defensive means...as well as a merciless offensive means to deal a just retaliatory strike to those who touch the country's dignity and sovereignty even a bit," said the commentary, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Seoul's Yonhap news agency also reported that South Korea had doubled the number of naval ships around the disputed sea border with the North. That was the scene of skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.

U.S. Considers Unilateral Financial Sanctions Against North Korea

State Department officials said today that the United States is considering its own financial sanctions on North Korea above and beyond what might happen at the United Nations.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters that U.S. action "within the banking sector certainly did get North Korea's attention previously, and if we can find ways that we can do that, we will do so."

The sanctions would be in response to Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and its experimentation with long-range missiles.

Crowley told reporters that the goal of sanctions would be to force North Korea to return to the stalled nuclear disarmament talks. "That's our ultimate objective, and we will continue to use whatever levers that we see available and we think will be effective."

The State Department spokesman had little information on the fate of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two American journalists held for trial in North Korea's top court on allegations they entered the country illegally and engaged in "hostile acts." The North's official news agency said the proceedings were to begin Thursday but no further details were available on Friday.

There is no independent confirmation that the trial of Laura Ling and Euna Lee was going on, Crowley said. He said the women had North Korean defense lawyers.

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."

How Ill Is Kim Jong Il?

Diplomats around the globe are telling reporters that there are indications that North Korea's ruthless dictator Kim Jong Il, 66, may be gravely ill after suffering a stroke weeks ago. The speculation began when Kim failed to show up for a parade today to celebrate the country's 60th anniversary.

"There is reason to believe Kim Jong Il has suffered a serious health set back, possibly a stroke," a Western intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press.
AP also reported:

A senior U.S. official said rumors had been circulating for weeks about the state of Kim's health and his control over North Korea's highly centralized government.

That official said the United States has no independent confirmation that Kim is ill, but that Kim's absence lends credence to reports that he is suffering and may no longer be in a position to command the absolute authority he had wielded.

"What we do know is that he was not at the military parade," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity about the administration's internal assessment of the situation. "That is quite unusual and reinforces a lot of what we've been hearing."

Mark Mazzetti and Choe Sang-Hun of The New York Times reported that American diplomats said there is no clear succession plan in place in the event of Kim's death.

However, the official said, there are few indications that North Korean officials are stepping up preparations for a transfer of authority.

South Korea’s largest daily, Chosun Ilbo, reported Tuesday that Mr. Kim collapsed on Aug. 22, citing an unnamed South Korean diplomat in Beijing. The Seoul government could not confirm the report. The South Korean intelligence agency said it was trying to confirm reports of Mr. Kim’s ill health.

The North’s state-run media have not reported any public appearance by Mr. Kim since mid-August, and speculation was already swirling that he might be in ill health. According to South Korea’s intelligence service, Mr. Kim has chronic heart disease and diabetes.