Washington  - US President Barack Obama met with Bill Clinton Tuesday at the White House to discuss the former president's trip this month to North Korea.

Clinton had gone to North Korea to secure the release of two US journalists who had been held there for months, and the White House said at the time that the 42nd president would soon debrief Obama on the trip.

Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il during the visit but has kept quiet publicly about the discussions since returning with the journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. The White House does not disclose the content of closed-door discussions between presidents and their predecessors.

Kim pardoned Lee and Lee after the meeting. The two woman received 12-year sentences in June after being arrested in March on suspicion of illegally crossing into North Korea from China.

Obama is seeking to persuade North Korea to rejoin nuclear talks that have been on hold since last year, aimed at getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme. (dpa)