Clinton leaves North Korea with two journalists (Second Lead)

WASHINGTON - US former president Bill Clinton left North Korea Wednesday morning with two American journalists who had been detained since March in the communist country, CNN reported.

Clinton, Laura Ling and Euna Lee were on their way to Los Angeles, where the two women are to meet their families, CNN quoted Clinton spokesman Matt McKenna as saying.

The report came shortly after North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) caused confusion by retracting its report that Clinton had left the country.

The agency did not give a reason for the retraction a few hours after the initial story had moved, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said.

Clinton arrived unexpectedly in Pyongyang Tuesday and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who pardoned Ling and Lee, KCNA said.

The former president also met the journalists, who were arrested in March at the Chinese-North Korean border. They were accused of sneaking into North Korea illegally and sentenced last month to 12-year prison terms.

The United States has continuously called on Pyongyang to release the journalists on humanitarian grounds.