Former US President Bill Clinton has arrived in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

At the airport, Clinton was greeted by the DPRK's Vice Foreign Minister, Kim Kye Gwan, and the Vice President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Yang Hyong Sop.

DPRK officials did not reveal the purpose of Clinton's visit. But South Korea's Yonhap news agency says Bill Clinton aims to secure the release of two US journalists who have been sentenced to 12 years of reform through labor.

During his administration, Bill Clinton sought to improve ties with the DPRK.

The two countries exchanged high-level envoys near the end of his term, fueling expectations that Washington and Pyongyang would end decades of hostility and normalize ties. But the rapid improvement in ties was short-lived, as George W. Bush became US president and declared the DPRK part of "an axis of evil".

(CCTV August 5, 2009)