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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has issued a special pardon to two detained US journalists, the country's state news agency reports.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee had been found guilty of entering illegally in March.
The news comes hours after former US President Bill Clinton made an unannounced visit to Pyongyang on what was described as a private mission.
Mr Clinton is the highest-profile American to visit since ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2000.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas, in Washington, says it is expected that the two journalists will fly back to the US with Mr Clinton in the coming hours, although that has not been confirmed.
"Kim Jong-il issued an order... granting a special pardon to the two American journalists who had been sentenced to hard labour," the official North Korean News Agency (KCNA) said in a statement.
The women's pardon and release was a sign of North Korea's "humanitarian and peace-loving policy", KCNA said.
'Private visit'
Washington had made no announcement of Mr Clinton's trip prior to his arrival on Tuesday, but later stressed it was a private visit.
However, media reports in Washington suggest the White House approved the mission and it had been secretly planned for weeks, our correspondent says.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has issued a special pardon to two detained US journalists, the country's state news agency reports.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee had been found guilty of entering illegally in March.
The news comes hours after former US President Bill Clinton made an unannounced visit to Pyongyang on what was described as a private mission.
Mr Clinton is the highest-profile American to visit since ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 2000.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas, in Washington, says it is expected that the two journalists will fly back to the US with Mr Clinton in the coming hours, although that has not been confirmed.
"Kim Jong-il issued an order... granting a special pardon to the two American journalists who had been sentenced to hard labour," the official North Korean News Agency (KCNA) said in a statement.
The women's pardon and release was a sign of North Korea's "humanitarian and peace-loving policy", KCNA said.
'Private visit'
Washington had made no announcement of Mr Clinton's trip prior to his arrival on Tuesday, but later stressed it was a private visit.
However, media reports in Washington suggest the White House approved the mission and it had been secretly planned for weeks, our correspondent says.
video on the page
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