Edited sentence: "We have been working hard on the release of the two journalists, and we have always considered that a separate issue," the Secretary of State said., said that the Obama administration was "extremely excited" to see the two journalists reunited with their families.According to an unnamed Obama administration official, the trip had been in the works for months, and Lee and Ling told their families – whom they were allowed to call weekly – that the North Koreans specifically asked for Bill Clinton to come to North Korea, and that they would be freed if he made the trip.Gore told reporters that "President Obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved," in the effort to bring the journalists home.Hillary Clinton, on a multi-nation trip in Africa when Lee and Ling returned to the U.However, she denied that Bill Clinton apologized on behalf of the U.The Obama administration has stressed that Bill Clinton's trip was private, and only about the two journalists, not about other issues such as Pyongyang's nuclear program.The future of the United States' relationship with North Korea was "really up to them," she concluded.government to the North Koreans for their actions