Will the testy relationship between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) thaw a bit now that former U.S. President Bill Clinton is back home with two American journalists who had been detained for four months in the DPRK?
Some analysts say the amnesty the DPRK granted the two journalists, sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally, could become an opening for the two countries to begin direct discussions.
The release of Euna Lee and Laura King was "a manifestation of the DPRK's humanitarian and peace-loving policy," the official KCNA news agency said about Clinton's surprise 20-hour humanitarian trip to Pyongyang.
The DPRK announced earlier this year it was abandoning the six-party disarmament talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, Russia, China and the U.S.
The DPRK also launched a long-range rocket, conducted a nuclear test, test-fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and restarted its atomic program in defiance of international criticism and the U.N. Security Council.
Clinton's successful visit came at a time when the DPRK insisted that it would never return to the six-party talks while the United States was attempting to gather support for more international sanctions against it.
At a meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Phuket, Thailand, last month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the DPRK to renew the talks.
She reiterated that the United States and the other parties would push for a package of incentives and opportunities, including normalizing relations between Washington and Pyongyang.
In response, the official KCNA news agency broadcast a statement by the Foreign Ministry on July 27 saying there was a "specific and reserved form of dialogue" available, hinting a one-on-one dialogue with the United States.
During Clinton's landmark stay in Pyongyang, he was received by the DPRK's top leader, Kim Jong Il, and accorded honors typically reserved for heads of state. Senior officials met his private unmarked plane as it arrived Tuesday morning.
The KCNA said Clinton and Kim "had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them."
Clinton conveyed a verbal message from U.S. President Barack Obama to Kim, "reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries," the report said.
The White House was trying to limit Clinton's visit to a "purely private humanitarian mission" and separate it from the nuclear issue.
But it can't be denied that Clinton's visit marked the highest-level American contact with the DPRK since former U.S. President Jimmy Carter made a similar trip to Pyongyang in June 1994.
Although Clinton's trip was successful in terms of its humanitarian mission, analysts believe it was far from marking a turning point on the standoff on the nuclear issue.
More efforts are needed to thaw DPRK-U.S. ties and reopen the six-party talks, analysts said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2009)
