Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has arrived in North Korea to negotiate the release of two American journalists imprisoned by the North.

A South Korean official said that Clinton, the husband of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, arrived in Pyongyang at 10:40 on a chartered flight.

The official said the former president will soon start negotiations for the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who are both reporters for California-based media outlet “Current TV.”

Reports in Seoul say there is a possibility that Clinton may make a stop in Seoul with the two reporters, should they be released, before returning to the United States.

The two were detained by the North on March 17th near the border with China while reporting on refugees fleeing the communist country. In early June, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegal entry and unspecified "hostile acts."