Former President Bill Clinton’s extraordinary mission to North Korea that resulted in the freeing of two U.S. journalists marked a thaw in his relations with his former vice president, Al Gore.
According to The New York Times, Gore, who co-founded the company the journalists worked for, personally asked Clinton to go to North Korea to intervene on behalf of Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
Clinton said he would, as long as his trip had the approval of the Obama administration. The White House then asked Clinton to go.
Bill Clinton
The two Current TV journalists were detained near the North Korea-China border on March 17. They had been working on a story about women and human trafficking.
In June, they were convicted of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.
Clinton flew to North Korea and met on Tuesday with Kim Jong-il, that country’s leader. He apologized on behalf of Ling, 32, and Lee, 36. The North Koreans than pardoned the journalists.
Clinton and the two women flew back to the United States on a private jet, arriving in Burbank, outside of Los Angeles, today.
Ling and Lee came off the jet and were greeted by their families. Clinton followed, and he and Gore embraced.
“It was a scene that will stand as an emotional triumph in diplomatic history,” wrote Johanna Neuman in The Los Angeles Times. “It also marks the public reunion of the Clinton-Gore team.”
Relations between the two men were strained during 2000 presidential election, when Gore unsuccessfully ran to succeed Clinton.
Neuman noted that Gore tried to distance himself from the Clinton presidency, which had been tarnished by Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern.
Clinton, in turn, felt that Gore did not use him enough during the campaign, especially in states where he remained popular.
In 2008, Gore chose to stay on the sidelines as then Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bill Clinton’s wife, and then Sen. Barack Obama competed for the Democratic presidential nomination.
When the outcome was no longer in doubt, Gore endorsed Obama.
According to reports, Gore worked diligently behind the scenes to free the journalists. Similarly, representatives of the State Department, which Hillary Clinton now leads, were involved in negotiations.
Eventually, it became clear that the North Koreans wanted someone of international stature to come to North Korea on behalf of the captives.
Several people were suggested, including Gore and Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico.
However, Bill Clinton emerged as the representative with the most clout and the most public relations value for North Korea, a country that was shunned during the eight years George W. Bush was in office.
Clinton agreed to go with the assurance that his mission would be a success, according to report.
On Wednesday during the airport arrival, Gore thanked Clinton for “performing so skillfully,” calling him his “partner and friend.”
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