US journalists released from North Korea head home

"I'm just completely excited for the family and looking forward to seeing them flying home with Bill Clinton," said Marcus Marquez, who went to high school with Ling in Carmichael, a Sacramento suburb.

He added their families were not going to be fully relieved until "they're in their arms."

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US journalists released by North Korea

The pair were reported to be in good health following their ordeal.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ordered the journalists released after meeting with Mr Clinton, who arrived in North Korea earlier in the day on an unannounced visit. Mr Clinton left the country with both journalists aboard his plane, his spokesman Matt McKenna said. The group have since landed in Japan and will continue their journey to Los Angeles later today.

It has emerged that Mr Clinton offered no apology for the conduct of the two journalists.

"The answer is no," an official said when asked about reports by North Korea;s official media that Mr Clinton had apologised.

Earlier, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il agreed to pardon the reporters after the former president "expressed words of sincere apology" for their "hostile acts."

In June, the nation's top court sentenced Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, to 12 years of hard labor for sneaking into the country illegally and engaging in "hostile acts."

The journalists were working for former Vice President Al Gore's Current TV media venture when North Korean guards seized them in March near the country's border with China.

The journalists' detention came at a time of heightened tension between the U.S. and North Korea over that country's nuclear program.

The U.N. Security Council also has imposed sanctions against North Korea for a May nuclear test.

The families of the two women, who had sent letters pleading for the women's release, issued a joint statement thanking President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the U.S. State Department for their work.

"We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home," according to the statement posted on a Web site dedicated to freeing the two journalists.

Ling's father, Doug, told reporters outside his home in Carmichael that his daughter's release was one of the best days of his life.

"It's one of the few times something positive has happened to me, besides having the two girls," Doug Ling said, referring to Ling and her sister, Lisa.

Doug Ling said he was heading to Southern California to meet his daughter, who he said was scheduled to fly into the Burbank airport, just north of Los Angeles, early Wednesday.

"I'm going to go down there and see my little girl," Doug Ling said.

Brandon Yip, who is married to Ling's cousin, said the first thing he'll tell Ling when she returns is, "Don't ever do that again."

Yip, who is the worship pastor at Bayside Covenant Church in California, said he prayed throughout the ordeal and felt confident the women would return home. He said he was grateful someone of Clinton's stature was able to negotiate their release.

"I think it needed to be somebody like that," Mr Yip said. "I'm grateful that they finally got to that point where they could at least come together and talk."