Bill Clinton arrived in the United States this morning after a dramatic 20-hour visit to North Korea, in which he won the freedom of Current TV reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling, opened a diplomatic channel to North Korea’s reclusive government and dined with the North’s ailing leader, Kim Jong-il, the NY Times reports. The private plane carrying Clinton and the journalists landed at 5:50 a.m. PDT at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. [More]

Above, Laura Ling spoke to the news media as Al Gore embraced Euna Lee after they arrived in Burbank, Calif. on Wednesday. Mr. Gore founded the company that employs the journalists. (Photo credit: Jonathan Alcor for the NYT)

A few sidebars:

• Two journalists freed, many more to go. SF State’s Yumi Wilson writes: “And now that these two women can get back to the business of news and storytelling, I am hopeful that the Clintons, along with other political and community leaders, will turn their attention to the three young Americans reportedly being held in Iran.

• Wealthy Hollywood producer Stephen Bing paid for NKorea flight, AP

• Bay Area journalist Josh Wolf, who was imprisoned for 226 days refusing to comply with a federal subpoena, comments on Current TV’s silence while the Lee and Ling were being held: “If it was Anderson Cooper facing 12 years in a North Korean labor camp, we both know that CNN would be covering the hell out of the story.”

• And here’s what Current TV finally said after its two reporters were freed.