North Korea: Bill Clinton Trip May Be Seen As A Triumph But Reality Is The US Will Pay A High Price

SKY News
Aug. 07, 2009

The release of the two US television journalists from North Korea may be regarded as a triumph but the reality is that the US may have paid a high price to bring the women home.

When Mr Clinton touched down in North Korea, the former president was seen as the man who could force the hand of Kim Jong Il and orchestrate the release of the journalists.

But it later emerged that it was Kim Jong Il himself who had invited Mr Clinton to Pyongyang and had guaranteed freedom for the reporters as long as the visit would not be linked to the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons.

North Korea's propaganda factory - working overtime - claimed Kim Jong Il had received a personal apology from the former US President.

"Clinton expressed words of sincere apology for the hostile acts committed by the two journalists," state media declared.

Mr Clinton's team later denied any apology had been offered but the damage had already been done.

And while the White House continues to insist that this was "purely a private visit" by Bill Clinton it emerged that he had been fully briefed by Mr Obama's staff prior to the trip.

But most worryingly for the US State Department is the potential political fallout from this trip among America's allies in the region.

For nearly ten years North Korea has been demanding one-to-one talks with the United States.

It has scrapped any plans to re-engage in joint meetings with Russia, Japan, China and South Korea.

Now the leaders of these countries will be waking up to images of a former US president sitting down in private with the leader of the rogue state.

There will be questions asked about what else Mr Clinton discussed with Kim Jong Il beyond the fate of the two reporters and what North Korea may expect in return for their pardon.

"Regardless of what the US administration says, the Clinton-Kim meeting signals the start of direct bargaining… it is a matter of time when bilateral talks between the US and the North begin," said an editorial in a South Korean mass circulation daily.

And that will be of huge concern to the people and the leaders of this vulnerable region.