North Korea pardons American journalists

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardoned two American journalists, who had been held in the country since March, during a surprise meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported, citing Pyongyang's KCNA.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling had been detained while filming along the Chinese and North Korean border and were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in June for trespassing and committing "grave crimes." 

KCNA reported that the former president offered his sincere apology for the act of the two reporters and asked that the issue be dealt with on a humanitarian basis, according to Yonhap.

The former president left Pyongyang after staying less than a day in the country, Yonhap reported, but no further details have emerged on how and when the two U.S. reporters will be released.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/south-korea/090804/nkorea-pardons-american-journalists