AP reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il issued a “special pardon” freeing two reporters from San Francisco’s Current TV after talks with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. North Korea accused Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, of sneaking into the country illegally in March and engaging in “hostile acts,” and the nation’s top court sentenced them in June to 12 years of hard labor.

The LA Times says the women were freed as the result of secret talks that began shortly after they were captured.

In this photo released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il talks with former U.S. President Bill Clinton and his delegation members in Pyongyang.