# Claim 601

Ling and Lee returned to the United States after Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang and Kim Jong Il granted the pardons.

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

- Statement: Ling and Lee returned to the United States after Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang and Kim Jong Il granted the pardons.
- Field: status
- Value: Clinton secures release
- About: [incident 2009-north-korea-ling-lee-sentenced](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2009-north-korea-ling-lee-sentenced)
- Source: Attacks on the Press 2009: North Korea. https://cpj.org/2010/02/attacks-on-the-press-2009-north-korea/
- Publisher: Committee to Protect Journalists
- Method: outlet report
- Checked: 2026-09-22
- Confidence: medium
- Status: current
- Source date: 2010-02-16

## Quotation from the source

> returned to the United States after former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang to escort them home following behind-the-scenes negotiations

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/601. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.