Bill Clinton, the former US president, met North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong-il, yesterday on a surprise visit to the communist nation that risks clouding Washington's policy of isolating Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programmes.
Mr Clinton travelled on what the Obama administration characterised as a “private mission” to obtain the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two US journalists sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labour for illegally entering the country.
Despite the White House's efforts to distinguish the nuclear issue from the case of the two journalists, Mr Clinton's trip appears to be a fillip for Pyongyang, which has pushed for direct talks with Washington despite US objections.
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