Report: Clinton in North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled to North Korea Tuesday to try to secure the release of two detained U.S. reporters, sources told Yonhap news agency.

A later report from the South Korean news agency, which quoted diplomatic sources in Seoul, said Clinton may have arrived in Pyongyang, capital of the Communist country, whose relations with the United States have plunged since its May 25 nuclear test.

"Former President Clinton is en route to Pyongyang," Yonhap quoted the source as saying. "As soon as he arrives there, he will begin negotiations for the release of the journalists."

The source said Clinton was expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on his trip. The two countries had held negotiations when Clinton was the president.

The trip appeared designed to secure the release of U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were sentenced by a North Korean court in June to 12 years of labor. Ling and Lee were captured in March near the border with China and charged with entering the country illegally and committing a ''grave crime'' against the state.

Japan's Kyodo News quoted a U.S. State Department official as saying he had no information on Clinton's trip.

The Yonhap report said the trip could pave the way for direct U.S.-North Korea talks and a resumption of the stalled six-nation negotiations on North Korea's denuclearization.