( CNN ) -- Two U.S. journalists who had been detained by North Korea were traveling back to the United States with former President Clinton hours after being pardoned , a Clinton spokesman said . Former President Clinton meets Tuesday with North Korea leader Kim Jong Il . `` They are en route to Los Angeles [ California ] where Laura and Euna will be reunited with their families , '' said spokesman Matt McKenna . Doug Ling , Laura 's father , reacted to the news outside his home in Carmichael , California , with , `` One of the best days in my life ... I figured , sooner or later , they 'd be back . '' In Los Angeles , family friend Welly Yang said the Ling family had `` done everything they could , while respecting the North Korean government , to try and get Laura home . '' He predicted that Ling would remain a journalist . `` Despite this terrifying experience , I ca n't imagine that Laura would give up her passion to tell stories that otherwise would n't be heard . '' Their release Wednesday came after Clinton met with top government officials in Pyongyang . `` Clinton expressed words of sincere apology to Kim Jong Il for the hostile acts committed by the two American journalists against the DPRK after illegally intruding into it , '' the news agency reported . `` Clinton courteously conveyed to Kim Jong Il an earnest request of the U.S. government to leniently pardon them and send them back home from a humanitarian point of view . `` The meetings had candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere and reached a consensus of views on seeking a negotiated settlement of them . '' Watch Ling 's father welcome his daughter 's pardon » . The report said Clinton then conveyed a message from President Obama `` expressing profound thanks for this and reflecting views on ways of improving the relations between the two countries . '' But White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters in Washington before the announced agreement that Clinton was not carrying any message -- written or oral -- from Obama . Gibbs added that the former president last spoke with Obama during a White House visit in March . He described Clinton 's trip as a `` solely private mission to secure the release of two Americans . '' The report from the Democratic People 's Republic of Korea , the nation 's official name , described the agreement to release the journalists as `` a manifestation of the DPRK 's humanitarian and peace-loving policy . `` The DPRK visit of Clinton and his party will contribute to deepening the understanding between the DPRK and the U.S. and building the bilateral confidence . '' Ling and Lee are reporters for California-based Current TV -- a media venture launched by Clinton 's former vice president , Al Gore . The women were arrested in March while reporting from the border between North Korea and China for California-based Current Media and sentenced in June to 12 years in prison on charges of entering the country illegally to conduct a smear campaign . Because the United States has no diplomatic relations with North Korea , efforts to resolve the issue had been handled through Sweden , which represents U.S. interests in Pyongyang . `` We want to thank the Obama administration for its continuous and determined efforts to achieve this outcome , and President Clinton for his willingness to undertake this mission , '' Current Media co-founders Gore and Joel Hyatt said in a written statement . `` All of us at Current are overjoyed at Laura and Euna 's safe return . Our hearts go out to them -- and to their families -- for persevering through this horrible experience . '' The visit by the former president , whose wife , Hillary Clinton , is the Obama administration 's secretary of state , came about three weeks after the United States dropped a request that Ling and Lee be released on humanitarian grounds . Instead , the United States was seeking amnesty for the women , Hillary Clinton said . Watch what may lie behind the pick of Bill Clinton » . Clinton 's mission came as the United States and its allies in the region are seeking to persuade North Korea to return to nuclear disarmament talks , which have stalled . North Korea conducted its second nuclear bomb test in May and has conducted several missile tests since . The United Nations has responded to those tests by tightening and expanding sanctions on the nation . North Korea and the United States were on opposite sides in the 1950-1953 Korean War and had no regular contacts before a 1994 crisis over North Korea 's nuclear program . North Korea agreed then to halt the development of nuclear weapons but abandoned that accord and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 . Former President Clinton had considered visiting North Korea in 2000 near the end of his second term as president . His secretary of state , Madeleine Albright , had gone to Pyongyang in early 2000 to meet with Kim . The 67-year-old North Korean leader is widely reported to have suffered a stroke a year ago and is believed to be grooming his youngest son , Kim Jon Un , as his successor . CNN 's Elaine Quijano , Charlie Moore and Ninette Sosa contributed to this report .
Laura Ling , Euna Lee pardoned , leave country with Bill Clinton . Clinton negotiates pardon with leader Kim Jong Il . `` Clinton expressed sincere words of apology , '' North Korea says . Visit comes amid tension over North Korea 's nuclear program .