Clinton wins release of 2 U.S. journalists in N. Korea

American Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained in March in North Korea and then put on trial and convicted in June.

The White House denied reports that Clinton delivered a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il from President Barack Obama, but North Korean officials seemed delighted by the meeting. North Korean officials posed for an official photograph with the former U.S. leader.

Clinton, the last Democratic president to serve in the White House before Obama, is only the second U.S. president to visit the country. Former President Jimmy Carter also made a trip to North Korea in 1994.

Although the White House described the Clinton trip as a private mission, the former president is married to the current U.S. Secretary of State, and analysts interviewed by the media on Tuesday believe the trip was most likely coordinated at some level by U.S. officials.

Clinton was accompanied on the trip by former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta, who also lead Obama's presidential transition team last fall.