WELCOME HOME EUNA LEE AND LAURA LING

Former President Bill Clinton has left North Korea with two U.S. journalists who had been jailed by Kim Jong Il’s regime.

Clinton, Laura Ling, (whose sister is journalist Lisa Ling) and Euna Lee are enroute to Los Angeles and are expected to arrive at the Bob Hope (Burbank) airport in the next hour. Former Vice President Al Gore who is also expected to greet the ladies asked for Clinton's help in getting the women released. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were pardoned by North Korea less than 24 hours after Clinton arrived in the country. That's POWER!

The women were arrested near the North Korean-Chinese border in March and sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labor. They were accused of illegal entry and engaging in "hostile acts." They'd been working for a media venture started by Gore.

Clinton's brief trip to Pyongyang also resulted in rare talks with the regime's reclusive leader, Kim Jong Il. State run media described the talks as "wide-ranging" and "exhaustive." But a U.S. official says Clinton's mission did not include discussions beyond releasing the journalists.

The women will be reunited with their families.