Journalists released from North Korea arrive in U.S.

(NECN: Burbank, Calif.) – Two American journalists freed by North Korea have returned home to the United States. The two were accompanied on a flight by former President Bill Clinton. The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling landed at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport early this morning. Click here to hear from Laura Ling.Video of Laura Ling and Euna Lee boarding plane in North Korea.Click here to hear from President Obama. The women spent more than four months detained in North Korea. The reporters were granted a pardon by North Korea on Tuesday, following rare talks between Clinton and the reclusive leader Kim Jong Il. They had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally. Former President Bill Clinton says he’s “very happy” that a pair of American journalists have been freed from imprisonment in North Korea. In a statement released from his New York office, Clinton called their plight a “long ordeal,” and said he was gratified that they “are now home and reunited with their loved ones.” Secretary Clinton said that the release of Ling and Lee was an issue held separate from concerns about North Korea’s nuclear activity. “We have been working hard on the release of the two journalists. We’ve always considered that a totally separate issue from our efforts to reengage the North Koreans and have them return to the six-party talks and work toward a commitment for the full, verifiable de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Secretary Clinton said. Click here to hear more from former VP Al Gore. *Material from The Associated Press used in this report*