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Formerly Imprisoned Journalists, President Clinton Arrive in U.S. from North Korea
Aired August 05, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you're just joining us right now, this is the plane carrying the two journalists who've been held since March in North Korea, carrying the former president as well, Bill Clinton.
As we've said, it looks like they're going to be ready to tow this or tug this into the hangar where people are eagerly awaiting, the families of the journalists as well. And we're speaking with former secretary of defense, William Cohen.
You know there have been critics, of course, there's no doubt joy for these families and you can imagine if you were in that situation, you'd do everything possible to secure the release of your loved one. But there are others, including the former ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, who say that this really amounts to rewarding bad behavior on the part of North Korea and its leader.
What do you think?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Well, the option would be to leave the young women there for -- I don't know how many years -- was it 12 years of hard labor? Until such time as there is some break-through on a diplomatic basis with the North Koreans.
I think to the extent that you could separate this issue out from the nuclear issue, which I believe has been done here by allowing a former president to make the trip, understanding that he was going to be able to get the young ladies back to the United States, and having no portfolio beyond that, but to observe, make an assessment of Kim Jong-il's health, his psychological makeup, signals that were being sent, all these things are important for American intelligence officers and others, the president of the United States, to make an assessment where do we go from here?
We have been trying to bring more and more pressure upon the Chinese who really do hold the card here to bring more pressure against the North Koreans. The Japanese, the South Koreans, the United States, we are all on board. The two major countries who have not been as eager to impose more strict sanctions have been Russia and China. China is the one that is closest to them.
So I think if you can separate these out, say this is a humanitarian mission, maybe we'll find something, and hopefully that will lead to a breakthrough on the other. I don't see that as being a negative. ROBERTS: And just watching the pictures here live, Mr. Secretary, they're taking some luggage off of the aircraft as officials probably go through and process the returning Americans here as they have to do every time you come in from outside of the country.
We're expecting the plane will be brought inside. It was a long process to get to this point that began almost immediately after Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained by the North Koreans.
Former vice president Al Gore who owns the television network -- part owner of the television network that they were working for has worked tirelessly to try to win their return.
We got a bit of a tick-tock on all this from the White House last night in an off-the-record background briefing. They said that there was an initial offer made back in July to allow Euna Lee and Laura Ling to leave if President Clinton, former President Clinton, came and picked them up.
And then they had to confirm this, of course. And there were conversations that, to the best of people's ability, confirmed that yes, in fact, it would be the case that they would be brought back, and that looks like Lisa Ling there that's about to go on board the aircraft. That would be Laura Ling's sister.
Does that look like Lisa to you, Kiran?
CHETRY: It's hard to tell from this standpoint. Yes. Maybe. Just let me just get with Thelma for a second because she's -- I know you're inside the hangar but have you heard anything about whether or not Lisa would be boarding that plane, Thelma?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, you'd have a better vantage point from where you are right now. I can tell you I am inside so I don't know who's boarding that plane. But I can tell you that people have been out here waiting for the families to come out because we were told that they would be waiting for this reunion.
That hasn't happened. So that is very intriguing. Perhaps they are going to take the family on board the plane for a private reunion. We don't know yet.
ROBERTS: That was -- we don't know who that was but it was somebody who looked an awful lot like Lisa Ling. And Lisa, of course, will be familiar to viewers of CNN because she was involved in our "Planet in Peril" series, and she's joined us several times here on AMERICAN MORNING.
And maybe she just wanted her -- wanted to see her sister before they pulled the plane inside for a little private reunion. So, perhaps she in fact has gone on board. It's just -- I'm looking at a fairly large monitor and it actually did look like her even though we're looking at that picture from a long, long way away. As you can see these pictures are being taken by a helicopter.
But back to what I was saying about negotiating their release, the White House was in touch with Korean officials to try to verify this offer. And when asked if there were direct talks between the White House and Pyongyang, the background briefer, the official from the White House, refused to discuss the exact nature of the talks.
Now the White House had been talking to North Koreans through the Swedes, because the United States, of course, doesn't have an embassy in Pyongyang, doesn't have any relations with the North Korean government.
So, the Swedes were acting as intermediaries. But the suggestion was kind of left open that perhaps there were some direct talks here in trying to verify this offer. And when they got it to the point where they thought, yes, this is pretty much a sure thing that President Clinton...
CHETRY: Looks like they're going to be opening those doors.
ROBERTS: ... was briefed. And we know that he had a couple of face-to-face briefings on this and what was happening, some intelligence briefings. The most recent one of those occurred a few days ago, Saturday, at his home in Washington. So that's a little bit of a tick-tock on how all of this came to pass.
CHETRY: Right. You know, so that is part of the timeline. I'm sure we're going to hear more details of that when we hear from the two girls and hopefully we'll hear from former President Clinton as well about some of the inner workings of exactly how all this came to pass.
ROBERTS: Looks like they're getting ready to bring the stairs up.
CHETRY: Yes. We just heard from Thelma as well. You said it looks like they're going to be opening the doors to the hangar as well, Thelma?
GUTIERREZ: Kiran, that's what it looks like from where I'm standing right now. You can see two men who are on the inside of the hangar. And they appear to be unlocking some of the hinges there to perhaps open those doors. One of the PIOs had come right by us and said that it would be happening any moment now.
ROBERTS: They were just putting the railing extensions down on that gangway from the aircraft probably to fold it up, bring it inside. Then the tug will drag it inside. And then the grand reunion will take place.
Do you see -- there they go. The stairs are being folded up now on the aircraft. You can't see that, that's not on your screen. We're watching a different monitor here in the studio.
Thelma, have you seen the family members yet?
GUTIERREZ: You know, John, we have been keeping an eye out for those family members. We have not seen them yet. We are -- looks like those doors are opening. CHETRY: There you see the doors opening. Yes.
GUTIERREZ: And there -- yes, there it is.
CHETRY: So all of our questions are going to be answered in just a moment. For now, we're watching this. You can't imagine the anticipation probably being felt both by the family members as well as the two journalists who've been separated for so long. But there you see, probably cannot happen....
ROBERTS: Now there is a scene that you would only see at the Hollywood Burbank airport.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: There you go. There you go. And so...
GUTIERREZ: Impressive sight.
ROBERTS: Yes. Sun coming up on that aircraft as they open the doors. I mean it's like out of a Harrison Ford movie, isn't it?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: There you see the door closing on the plane. And we'll see the tug pulling the plane into that hangar. And then from there we'll get to witness this reunion along with the rest of the world and the family members of these two journalists that have been stuck there since March. One hundred forty days.
GUTIERREZ: John, Kiran?
CHETRY: Go ahead, Thelma.
GUTIERREZ: Yes. You know, I had -- when we walked into this very large hangar, which is about the size of a football field, I wondered, who owned this thing and whose plane exactly is this? It turns out that the plane is owned by Shangri-la Entertainment. And Steve Bing, the heir to $600 million real estate fortune, owns that plane and apparently provided the plane to President Clinton so that he could go...
ROBERTS: Right.
GUTIERREZ: ... and pick up Laura and Euna.
ROBERTS: Hey, I should...
GUTIERREZ: And now...
ROBERTS: Should mention here.
GUTIERREZ: There is the family.
ROBERTS: I should mention here, Thelma, too, that we saw somebody who looked like Laura Ling getting on board that plane, a reliable source informs me that that was not her. So we don't know who that was. But certainly it -- likeness was striking.
GUTIERREZ: OK. John? There is the family. You see the family right now?
ROBERTS: Here we go.
GUTIERREZ: And there is Lisa. Lisa Ling there with her husband, Paul Song. And right in front of Lisa is, of course, Doug Ling, the father of both of the women.
CHETRY: And we just caught a glimpse of...
GUTIERREZ: And we also understand that...
CHETRY: Yes, we just caught a glimpse of Iain Clayton, the husband of Laura.
GUTIERREZ: Yes.
CHETRY: We were getting a different shot. That I believe is Iain right there. He's obscured by some of the photographers taking pictures there but you can just see the elation on his face right now. He has his hands clasped in front of him.
You know you've gotten a lot of mixed feelings, too, Thelma. I mean you're so thrilled to see your loved ones after this long, at the same time a highly, highly public reunion taking place.
GUTIERREZ: Yes, and you know, Kiran, that's the most intriguing thing about this. We had thought that perhaps they would have some private time. That this reunion would be private. It happen prior to those doors opening. And then the public relations person came up and told us, no, that's not going to happen. It's -- we're going to bring them off the plane and they will be re-united right here on the floor.
(CROSSTALK)
GUTIERREZ: And now you can see the first person...
ROBERTS: That looks like Hannah and Mike right there.
GUTIERREZ: That is Hannah. There she is. Look at her. And she's almost jumping out of her dad's arms.
ROBERTS: That is cute.
GUTIERREZ: That is Michael Saldate. Actor Michael Saldate who's holding her, and Euna's husband.
CHETRY: Can't imagine what it must be like for them as well.
ROBERTS: Hasn't seen mom since the beginning of March.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: My goodness. CHETRY: Just a...
GUTIERREZ: John?
CHETRY: Go ahead, Thelma.
GUTIERREZ: Besides that, imagine not seeing mom since the beginning of March. And then seeing this huge plane pull in to this hangar and you can just imagine what's going on in this little girl's mind as she's watching this. I mean she has this look on her face like what is going on here?
CHETRY: Yes. And we're all seeing it unfold right there. She actually looks pretty calm and composed for all that she's been through over these several months. She's clutching her dad's hand there and he's pointing and showing her the plane. And of course, all we're waiting for right now is to see the two women step off that plane along with the former president.
And did you get any more information, Thelma, as to whether or not we're going to hear from him during this? And we know that there has been some confirmation. We'll be hearing from Laura making some brief remarks. We heard that from the family spokesperson.
But do you think we'll hear from the president as well right now?
GUTIERREZ: I imagine we will. We were told that the entire party would be brought before the microphone on the floor and at that point...
CHETRY: There's Al Gore and Lisa Ling as well.
GUTIERREZ: ... whoever chooses to speak will be able to speak.
ROBERTS: Yes. Yes. Of course, former vice president Al Gore is part owner of Current TV which is the network that the two women were working for. We also understand, too, that on his way to Elkhart, Indiana this morning, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, will be making a statement expected -- it's about this as well.
We can imagine he'll say how happy he is that they're back on native soil again, safe and sound after being in detention for so long. What we also don't know is exactly -- the family members will because they were speaking with them on occasion,.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: What the exact circumstances of their detention was. They have been sentenced to go to a prison camp, 12 years of hard labor. We don't know exactly what stage that ever got to.
CHETRY: All right. Well, let's watch this unfold there. We them exiting the plane right now. And there we see their family members and we're hearing the cheers.
ROBERTS: There's Euna in the front there. Wow. Hannah sort of says it all, doesn't she?
CHETRY: Hmm. Gosh. Moistures your eyes just to see it. She's just holding on, she hasn't even said a word. I think she nodded at her mom at one point. You can just imagine how heartbreaking these past few months have been. And you think about all the other people.
You saw three people right now in Iran being held and many all over the world. And there you see Al Gore, former vice president. We still haven't seen President Clinton exit the plane yet.
ROBERTS: I'm sure he's hanging back.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: And just wanted the family to have a moment. Not a dry eye in the house. And here, too. Wow.
GUTIERREZ: John, it was interesting to watch Iain Clayton, who is Laura's husband, approach the plane. It was probably hard for you to see this, but you know, he just kept on wringing his hands and he led the group up to the plane and when his wife of 12 years got off, big hugs, kisses.
He has said a while ago that they have been married for 12 years. It was the first time that they had been apart for such a long time. They just recently bought a home together and they had ordered pillows. And he said the pillows came and that's when he felt very lonely and realized how much he missed his wife. And now they're re- united.
ROBERTS: And you know the thing is -- we spoke with former Vice President Gore about their detention. And he was optimistic that he'd be able to get them out, that it was just a matter of time. But you just -- you know, when you're dealing with North Korea, you just never know.
You just -- you know? Are they going to hold them for a few weeks, you know, just to make a point? Are they going to hold them for a few years? We know the conditions in one of the camps that they might have been sent to. And Amnesty International and other groups have detailed the videotape that's been smuggled out. The conditions in those camps.
So as a -- you know, as a family member.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Your heart just got to break every day that your loved one is over there.
CHETRY: I know.
ROBERTS: Just not knowing what they're going through.
CHETRY: And seeing her dad's face, as well, there on the left- hand part of the screen. The two sisters. Both journalists, both doing risky work, going places all around the world to try to bring stories from very remote parts. I mean Lisa Ling herself was in North Korea covering the situation there.
All right, we see some clapping taking place. And there we see our former president.
ROBERTS: There he is.
CHETRY: William Jefferson Clinton walking off the plane.
ROBERTS: Followed by John Podesta, his former chief of staff, and now the head of American Progress. And there are the two former colleagues embracing.
CHETRY: Yes. This is all quite a surreal moment to watch unfold. There you see the president shaking hands with the family members. I'm sure they, boy, want to give him a big show of gratitude as well for his work in securing the release of the two journalists.
ROBERTS: Yes. Absolutely. You know, as the former secretary of defense William Cohen was saying, the President Clinton wanted to go to North Korea in the waning days of his presidency and the latter half of the year 2000, thought that in an election year it might be too much of a symbol. So decided not to go on the trip.
So, he's wanted to go back there for a long, long time, had the opportunity to here. And what a tremendous premise under which to make that trip to Pyongyang as well when you can bring back these two journalists.
We talked about the dangers that you face as a journalist, particularly in -- you know, that part of the world where you're dealing with potentially hostile borders. Euna Lee is a photographer and editor. And typically she'd been working in the newsroom. This was her first assignment outside of the newsroom. And one that lasted from the beginning of March until now.
CHETRY: Well, it is remarkable, both of them look great. As we heard, they were being, I guess, held in a guest house. And they were allowed to make periodic phone calls while there was talk of their sentencing to hard labor.
They didn't actually do any time in a labor camp. And both of them, given all that they've been through, look fantastic.
ROBERTS: Yes, they do. And it was great that the Swedes were able to negotiate these phone calls back and forth.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: Because you can imagine, you know, their loved ones back home in the early going of this ordeal, had no idea what their circumstances were and then the Swedish diplomats were able to negotiate at least in periodic phone calls so they were able to check in. Not exactly sure what the frequency of that was, but it's great to be able to have that line between, you know, a place like North Korea, which as we know is very closed society, a very secretive society, you don't really know what's going on inside there and then back here in the United States.
CHETRY: You know if you're just joining us, this was just about, what, 15 minutes ago, this rollercoaster of emotions that we all witnessed here as that plane pulled into the hangar, the loved ones who had been waiting and waiting and waiting tirelessly trying to secure the release of Euna Lee, who you're seeing there hugging her little daughter, Hannah, and Laura Ling, the sister of Lisa Ling. Both of them journalists.
There you see Laura. They just arrived safe and sound after quite an ordeal being taken in March after they were reporting there in the border between China and North Korea. Whirlwind trip for the former president, Bill Clinton. And there you see him talking with Lisa Ling as well.
All of this unfolding in this hangar in Burbank. This was something that was arranged so that this could be very public and we are still awaiting the statements. And we still haven't heard from the two women and we also haven't heard from former President Clinton about what it was like.
ROBERTS: Yes. Expect that we'll probably hear from them in the next few minutes.
Thelma Gutierrez, if you can still hear us, describe -- you know, obviously, we're looking at the pictures here. But describe for us what the feeling is there in that hangar this morning.
GUTIERREZ: John and Kiran, there was so much anticipation all morning long for this very moment and I think what really strikes me is just watching that little girl. A 4-year-old little girl who hasn't seen her mother in all of these months and all of a sudden these doors open up and this plane comes through and the look on her face. Her eyes were wide open and she looked at her mother, almost to say, gee, you know?
Lots of people come to airports but I mean this is really something. And her grandparents were holding her and they kept on asking her so what do you think about your mother? You know, they kept on pointing at their mother and the little girl just smiled. And I think that that's one of the moments that definitely strikes you.
ROBERTS: We're just getting e-mail to us, a statement from President Clinton. We will probably going to hear from him in the next few minutes here, although we see them, they may be making their way to the microphone. Let me read this quickly. It says, quote, "I am very happy that after this long ordeal Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and re-united with their loved ones."
And let's listen to them. Here's Laura. LAURA LING, JOURNALIST FREED FROM NORTH KOREA: Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea. We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. And then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton.
(APPLAUSE)
LING: We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here home and free. Euna and I would just like to express our deepest gratitude to President Clinton and his wonderful, amazing, not to mention super cool team, including John Podesta, Doug Band, Justin Cooper, Dr. Roger Band, David Straub, Mengie Kwan (ph), and the United States Secret Service, who traveled half way around the world, and then some, to secure our release.
We'd also like to thank President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Vice President Gore who we also call Al, the Swedish ambassador, Max Boyar, Kurt Tom, Linda (INAUDIBLE), and then the people at the U.S. State Department, who worked so hard to win the release of their fellow Americans.
Steve Bing and his crew, and Andrew Liveris and the Dow Company. And I know that I am forgetting a bunch of instrumental people right now, but forgive me if I'm a little incoherent.
To our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and to the complete strangers with the kindness of hearts who showed us so much love and sent us so many positive thoughts and energy, we thank you.
We could feel your love all the way in North Korea. It is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. It is what sustained our faith that we would come home. The past 140 days have been the most difficult heart-wrenching time of our lives.
We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea and we are so happy to be home. And we are just so anxious right now to be able to spend some quiet, private time getting re-acquainted with our families.
Thank you so much.
(APPLAUSE)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ladies and gentlemen, the family has asked me to say a few words and on their behalf, all of us, and on behalf of the staff and families of Current TV and my co-founder, Joel Hyatt, we want to welcome Laura and Euna home.
We want to thank President Bill Clinton for undertaking this mission and performing it so skillfully, and all the members of his team who played key roles in this. Also to President Obama, Laura mentioned this, but President Obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved in this humanitarian effort.
To Secretary Clinton and the members of the State Department, several of whom are here, they have really put their hearts into this. It speaks well of our country that when two American citizens are in harm's way, that so many people would just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending, and we are so grateful to all of them.
To the thousands upon thousands of people who have held Laura and Euna in their prayers, who have written letters and called and sent e- mails, we're very, very grateful.
To Steve Bing and all the folks who have made the flight possible, we say a word of thanks, deep thanks as well.
This has been an ordeal for them, but I want you all to know, your families have been unbelievable. Unbelievable. Passionate, involved, committed, innovative. You'll hear a lot of stories, and they're looking forward to hearing a lot of stories from you.
But Euna, Hannah's been a great girl while you were gone.
And Laura, your mom has been making your special soup for two days now, and to everybody who's played a part in this -- and again, a special thanks to President Bill Clinton, my partner and friend, so grateful, and ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out.
We're going to let these families have a full and proper reunion now, but thank you for coming out.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there you have it. Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. As we watch this very dramatic and extremely emotional pictures inside the airplane hangar there in Burbank, California, where we have just watched the reunion of Laura Ling and Euna Lee with their families.
And there's just no doubt that the gal who stole the show, if you will, was the 4-year-old daughter of Laura Ling, Hannah there. We saw her just dive into her mom's arms and really not be able to say much at all. She certainly didn't want to let go. As you can imagine. After 140 days. There you see, Hannah there, hanging on to her mom for dear life. Lots and lots of tears. Really a lump in a lot of people's throat actually.
We did hear from Laura Ling, her quote was 140 -- "The last 140 days have been the most difficult and heart-wrenching of our lives." She started her whole address to the media by saying, "Thirty hours ago we were in a North Korean prison and we feared we would be sent to a hard labor camp."
Then they learned they were going to a meeting, and things developed from there. And the next person that they saw was President Bill Clinton. And you know the history from there. There they are departing the aircraft inside the hangar.
And there's that precious moment of Euna Lee being reunited with her husband Michael and her daughter Hannah. Also want to let you know, in the background there, of course you see Laura Ling reuniting with her husband as well, Iain Clayton.
We are watching another monitor as we continue to show you this video that just happened moments ago in case you may have missed it. It's a really emotional video there.
I am also watching a monitor waiting for President Barack Obama to come out. We understand that he will be making some type of reactionary comment to this as well, on his way today to Indiana to talk a little bit about the economy, but feeling very much like he wants to have something to say here regarding this reunion and the release of these two American journalists from a North Korean prison.
Just to get you updated and remind you of the story, what happened in the very beginning back in March, when the two of them crossed over the border from China. It was called a "hostile act," and that is why they were imprisoned by the North Korean government.
And, again, as you know, lots of developments from there, and a very, very long time later this is what we are seeing today.
Our Thelma Gutierrez is actually standing by inside that airplane hangar, was there for all of this and joins us now just a half an hour before 7:00 this morning.
It's been an early and very, very busy morning, Thelma. Tell us the reaction firsthand there to what we just saw.
GUTIERREZ: Heidi, it was really incredible. All morning long we had wondered if this reunion would actually take place in front of the cameras, because, after all, this is a family that hadn't seen each other for 140 days.
COLLINS: Right.
GUTIERREZ: Undoubtedly, there would be a lot of personal stuff that they'd want to talk about, perhaps even a private reunion for Hannah, the four-year-old little girl.
But it didn't work out that way. It actually unfolded right before our cameras. And Heidi, it was really interesting to watch as the doors opened. What a dramatic moment to see those doors open, to see that plane come in, and then the family members, a line of them, all go up to the plane and then greet Euna and Laura.
COLLINS: Yes, boy, Thelma.
GUTIERREZ: It was just a very dramatic, dramatic reunion.
COLLINS: I got to say, I almost didn't think they were going to make it down the stairs. They wanted to run, had to hold themselves up -- Laura and Euna, I mean -- trying to get down to their family members there.
GUTIERREZ: Heidi, I was so impressed at how composed they were. I don't know if I could have done that if I hadn't seen my kids in that long. But they were so composed.
And little Hannah, as she's watching this plane come in, I mean, how many times do we get to an airport and kids know what an airport is. But, gee, you know, to have a private hangar the size of a football field, and then all of a sudden for this big white plane to approach and see your mom in it.
You should have seen her eyes. They were the size of saucers. It was quite interesting to see.
COLLINS: Yes, I imagine all of those flashing cameras as well really kind of making everybody take a step back, especially if you're four years old.
All right, well, Thelma Gutierrez, sure am glad that you're there. We'll check back with you in a little while.
I want to keep our eye on the other screen you see there in our picture, because we are waiting for President Barack Obama. I'm hearing that it's just about 30 seconds away or so before he begins speaking.
I want to check in with our Elaine Quijano at the White House now for the very latest. Elaine, good morning to you.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, I just got out of the gaggle with Robert Gibbs, White House press secretary. He says obviously the White House is quite pleased that the journalists are back safely here in the United States.
He also said that at some point former President Clinton will in fact debrief with members of the president's national security team. We do understand that he was in fact briefed before heading to North Korea.
And we also know, as we've been reporting, that President Obama did not actually speak directly with former President Clinton before this mission.
But Robert Gibbs saying what the White House is really trying to do here is to emphasize a decoupling here, that this humanitarian mission, they insist, is to be kept separate, and they are hoping the North Koreans see it that way as well, separate from the nuclear issue.
Of course, the United States wants North Korea to curb its nuclear ambitions, but we're told that the president shortly expected to come out here, is going to make a very brief statement before traveling on to Elkhart, Indiana -- Heidi?
COLLINS: I was just going to say it will be very interesting then to hear what he has to say, because he'll have to be extremely careful about not mentioning a word about the other side of this story, that being the nuclear side of things and proliferation.
QUIJANO: Well, that's right. And in the gaggle this morning, Robert Gibbs was asked about that, what in fact does this mean for U.S.-North Korea relations. And his answer essentially was, it remains to be seen.
Obviously they hopefully that this might be a step forward in the relationship, but again stressing that they very much want to delink these two issues as they've tried to do all along and insist that what former President Clinton was doing there was not in an official capacity, but again, a private mission, former President Clinton's mission to try and free these two journalists.
So we will wait to see what the president says here shortly.
I should also tell you that last night senior administration officials actually gave a little bit more detail on how all of this came to be. We know that about a week or so ago the national security advisor spoke with President Clinton about his willingness to take on this mission.
And here we see President Obama walking up to the podium on the south lawn of the White House.
COLLINS: All right, Elaine. Thanks so very much for that. And we will check in with you in just a few moments.
Here again, as President Barack Obama approaches the podium very quickly after the reunion of Euna Lee and Laura Ling with their families in Burbank, California.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody.
I want to just make a brief comment about the fact that the two young journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, are safely back with their families. We are obviously extraordinarily relieved.
I had an opportunity to speak with the families yesterday once we knew that they were on the plane. The reunion that we've all seen on television, I think is a source of happiness not only for the families, but for the entire country.
I want to thank President Bill Clinton -- I had a chance to talk to him -- for the extraordinary humanitarian effort that resulted in the release of the two journalists.
I want to thank Vice President Al Gore, who worked tirelessly in order to achieve a positive outcome.
I think that not only is this White House obviously extraordinarily happy, but all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work.
And my hope is that the families that have been reunited can enjoy the next several days and weeks, understanding that because of the efforts of President Clinton and Gore, they are able to be with each other once again.
So, we are very pleased with the outcome, and I'm hopeful that the families are going to be able to get some good time together in the next few days.
Thank you very much.
COLLINS: All right, so there you have President Barack Obama thanking former President Bill Clinton for all he had to do in this, which was, as you remember, labeled a solely private mission going in and helping to secure the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling. So President Barack Obama making those comments before heading off to Indiana.
Our Elaine Quijano standing by to talk a little bit more about this. Yes, we did expect to hear something from him. But as we were mentioning before hearing from the president, he needed to be very careful about how he chose his words here.
QUIJANO: That's right.
And I don't know if you could tell, at the very end there a reporter shouted a question to the effect, what does this mean now going forward. And a lot of people are asking that question -- does this in any way mean there will be better relations between North Korea and the U.S., relations which, as you know, Heidi, have been particularly strained.
We've heard recently in fact some of the rhetoric -- really bizarre in some respects -- rhetoric between the current Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and some of the North Korean leadership.
But what we heard from President Obama there again, obviously a desire to emphasize that this is a humanitarian mission that was carried out successfully, staying away from answering any kind of questions or perhaps sending any clues or signals about what this might, in fact, mean for the North Korea-U.S. relationship going forward.
Again, just to reiterate some things that Robert Gibbs mentioned in the gaggle just a short time ago in his office, President Clinton, former President Clinton will in fact be debriefed by members of President Obama's national security team.
When, we don't really know. We know that he was briefed before heading over to North Korea, and we'll wait to see exactly how things play out here.
But one question that I thought was interesting, senior administration officials saying that President Clinton, it was only after the Obama administration carried out, quote-unquote, "due diligence" that it was in fact believed, OK, let's go ahead and we would advise the president, former President Clinton, to go and carry out this mission.
One question is, what does that mean? How does one carry out due diligence with a regime like the North Korean regime, which many analysts will tell you is extremely difficult to get any kind of good intelligence on what the situation is over there.
But it's interesting, because all day yesterday, as you know, we were trying to get information, even basic information about how the White House was getting updates throughout President Clinton's mission. We couldn't even get that. They were very concerned, obviously, about making any kind of statement. They didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize the success of the mission.
So a lot of back story still to be told. But, again, looking forward here, the next step for this is for former President Clinton to come back and talk with the Obama security team.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. And I think everybody was talking for quite some time about how, clearly, a lot of groundwork had been done before sending over someone like a former president, who probably isn't going to want to go on this mission without knowing that there was going to be a successful outcome, clearly.
All right, Elaine Quijano, we know you're on top of it from the White House angle. We sure do appreciate that.
Also, we want to get you back to the moment that Laura Ling and Euna Lee came off that airplane and went out there hugging their parents and Euna Lee's daughter, four-year-old Hannah there. Here's that video once again, very, very emotional to watch.
After those hugs and kisses, Laura Ling made her way over to the microphones and really wanted to offer a lot of thanks to a lot of different people who she said all across the world did many things to secure their release and get them back home.
Let's go ahead and listen in for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA LING: It is what kept us going in the darkest of hours. It is what sustained our faith that we would come home.
The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching time of our lives. We are very grateful that we were granted amnesty by the government of North Korea, and we are so happy to be home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Getting the deal done, how did it all go down? Former President Clinton said all the right things to North Korean's Kim Jong-il but did he actually apologize? Still a lot of questions about how all of this came to be.
State media in North Korea says yes. But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking a short time ago in Kenya, says that is absolutely not true. CNN's foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is joining us now live from Washington.
Boy, it's a he said/she said already.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I want to see the original Korean. I'm serious, because, you know, Heidi, in some of these things when you get a translation in a word like "apologize" and "regret," they're very close. But they're very different in connotation.
COLLINS: Yes, great point.
DOUGHERTY: I think it's a good idea that some of our Korean speakers at CNN -- and we have a number of them -- should check out what they said in Korean.
But you do have, at least in the translation, the North Koreans saying that he did apologize, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying he did not.
COLLINS: And then there's also the question of apologize for what? Apologize that the journalists, and however this was phrased or not phrased, crossed the border, or that they committed hostile acts? All of those are very important in context, too.
DOUGHERTY: Absolutely.
But the United States government is not going to apologize for the actions of its citizens that it had nothing to do with. So that's the basic point. One would doubt that the president apologized in that sense.
He could, and this is all speculation, but he could express regret that this unfortunate situation occurred, et cetera, et cetera, and that could save face on both sides. And that's probably where this is going, Heidi.
And then the bigger question is where this all goes. It really is an extraordinary moment when you think that the diplomacy, the relations between two countries that have been in a terrible state recently now are hinging and being shifted by the state of two individual Americans. It's really amazing.
COLLINS: Well, and that's the big question -- are they, and what will happen next? And all of this effort to try and make sure, according to the White House, and even according to a lot of sound from Lisa Ling, the sister of Laura Ling, obviously, that we've heard on our air speak many times about how important it was to keep those two issues very, very separate, meaning the nuclear arms issue and also the release of these two journalists.
DOUGHERTY: Right.
And listen very carefully to what President Obama just said when he came out. It was very informal, it felt almost off the cuff, but you can bet it was not off the cuff at all. It was a very important moment.
He mentioned nothing about the overall relationship. He mentioned nothing about nuclear issues, nothing. It was all "extraordinarily happy, we're glad that the families are back." It was very personal, and it was all in that humanitarian vein that the administration had been pressing.
COLLINS: Jill, it is going to be fascinating from here on out. and I know you are right in the middle of it and keeping tabs, asking all the right questions. So Jill, we'll keep in touch with you. We sure do appreciate that, our foreign affairs correspondent.
Meanwhile, I want to give you this -- former President Bill Clinton released a statement saying, "I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones."
He went on to say, "When their families, Vice President Gore, and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed. I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home."
Want to take a minute now to bring in former Secretary of Defense, William Cohen. He is standing by. Shortly here we're going to talk with him more about some of what went on, some important insight from him.
Also, a barrage of bullets -- sparks terrorize a fitness center in Pennsylvania. A gunman opened fire killing and wounding women in an aerobics class. We'll get you a live report in just a moment.
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COLLINS: All right, as we said, we wanted to take a moment to bring in former Secretary of Defense William Cohen on the news that the two American journalists are back home now, Mr. Secretary. We're talking about, of course, Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
You were with us earlier today and saw all of those incredible live pictures of them arriving at the airport hangar and being reunited with their families.
But there certainly is a lot to talk about here, a lot of stories intertwined in all of this, and one of them, of course, is North Korea and the government, and nuclear proliferation.
Talk to us a little bit about what this potential relationship -- I'm not quite sure how we'd want to characterize it. I would love to hear what you would characterize it as, and where it goes from here, what the implications of these talks about these two journalists are.
COHEN: Well, there are a lot of moving parts in this whole effort. A lot of planning went into arranging for them to be brought home.
Obviously, President Clinton was not going to make the trip unless he was absolutely satisfied that he was going to be successful in bringing the young ladies back home. In order to be successful in that, he had to have information that was passed, perhaps, through our Swedish friends, and also through the Chinese.
In other words, you talked earlier about due diligence. Due diligence would be, who are our friends in the region who are going to give us the assurance that if we make this trip with the former president of the United States, that he be successful.
He had not been successful, that certainly would have hardened the relationship even further.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: So a lot went into making sure that they would do what they said they had to do.
Then, secondly, what was said during the course of that? He was greeted at the airport by a high-ranking North Korean official who deals with the nuclear program in North Korea.
Were there opportunities to talk on the sides, outside of the actual meeting dealing with the young ladies to have a broader discussion about the U.S. and North Korea having to get back to the six-party talks either way?
COLLINS: Exactly, yes.
COHEN: Now, I assume there was some discussion, even though President Clinton did not have the authority to make any proposals or to explore any avenues, I think he was quite restricted. But nonetheless, during the course of those kinds of conversations, you have a broader opportunity to discuss a variety of issues, even at a superficial level.
The third point to keep in mind is Bill Clinton is there assessing the mood of the people in the room, the body language coming from Kim Jong-il, the language that he was using, and also to make an assessment, were there signals be sent either by word or by action that the North Koreans are prepared to come back to the table and that they want to have a productive outcome of the negotiations.
Maybe not. It may -- it may never have occurred. But that would be very valuable information for President Bill Clinton to bring back to President Obama.
COLLINS: You would have to imagine whether or not we in the media learn of this, that there will be some sort of major debriefing from former President Bill Clinton on to facets of the current administration now so as to have all of those questions answered.
I'm just fascinated by what could have happened in those meetings, and, as you say, whether or not it was just body language and on a superficial level. Was he not also trying to assess personally and firsthand a bit about the physical health of this leader? COHEN: Exactly. There had been rumors, we have seen photographs from years past and how Kim Jong-il looked then and how he looks now, and it's not as clear he is not as well today as he was sometime ago, that we don't know at this point what the longevity of his life is going to be.
There are rumors about him looking for a successor. There are debates taking place in this country as to whether or not we could do any business with Kim Jong-il or whether we should wait for whichever son takes over as his successor, and then try to negotiate with that individual.
I take a different view point on that. I think that any time ask you a young man who comes in, or woman, but in this case, man who comes into a position in a state like North Korea as its president, it will be years before he will be in a position to make any kind of deal with the U.S. and the other five parties involved here, or four parties involved.
And so I would prefer to see some movement made by Kim Jong-il laying a foundation for a son to then build upon in the coming years should he not be part of this planet any longer.
COLLINS: Yes. What's the first step of that foundation? Going back to six-party talks?
COHEN: That would be a very good start, and I think if he were to indicate that he is prepared to give up his nuclear ambitions and we had very intrusive verification mechanisms put in place, this could lead to a good result for the North Korean people.
They would be welcomed into the international community. I think that their people would prosper a great deal. We would see peace brought to the Korean peninsula, and I think all would benefit from that.
COLLINS: Well, sure.
COHEN: So that's the opportunity. And the question is, is he prepared to start laying that foundation and then pass the baton over to one of his sons? That would be my hope.
But I think if we wait for the son to take over, I think we're looking at several years for that son to then finally get grounded, have the right advisors, then be strong enough to say I can make concessions in order to achieve a result, a good result for my people.
COLLINS: Got it.
Boy, we sure do appreciate talking to you about this. As you say, a lot of moving parts for some time here. We may not even understand the full impact of all of this for a while.
Former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, always nice to see you, and, again, appreciate your insight.
COHEN: Great to see you.
COLLINS: We want to let everybody know what is being shown on our screen right now, because these are some aerial pictures coming in from our affiliate in California there, Burbank to be exact.
The family cars that are parked outside that very, very large hanger, where I'm sure everyone is still gathered and still pinching themselves to realize that their loved ones are home, and then, of course, personally, the girls pinching themselves that they are back on American soil after being in a North Korean prison.
It was 140 days, as we heard Laura Ling say just a few minutes ago -- "30 hours ago we were in a North Korean prison and we feared that we were sent to a hard labor camp."
So again, you see some of the family vehicles pulling away from that airplane hangar, and we will keep our eye on that and of course continue to follow the story.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, we want to know this from you, because we always love to your opinions. How will the return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee impact U.S. and North Korea relations?
Very interesting discussion with former Secretary of Defense William Cohen on that and what it could mean. It might take some time to realize what the implications are.
But we would love to hear from you on our blog -- CNN.com/heidi. Just go ahead and send us in your blogs here and we will pull them up and let you know what everybody is saying about it.
You can also give us a call at the hotline number. That is 1- 877-742-5760. Looking forward to hearing from everybody on this.
We'll take a quick break. We're back in the CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment.
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