US: Envoy did not apologize to North Korea

Reports that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper offered North Korea an apology in order to free two Americans are “simply inaccurate,” the State Department said Monday.

“Absolutely not,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in an interview Monday with CNN. “Those reports are simply inaccurate. He did come with a message from the president, just simply conveying that he was the president’s envoy, representing him, to bring these two American citizens home. And that’s exactly what he did.”

{mosads}In a statement obtained by CNN, the North Korean government said it received an “earnest apology” from the U.S. for the behavior of Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller, the two Americans freed over the weekend.

Psaki said that no such apology was conveyed, and there was “no quid pro quo” for the prisoners’ release.

“They got a visit from a high-level envoy from the United States,” Psaki said. “And what we got was two American citizens, back with their families. And we’ll certainly take that.”

Earlier Monday, President Obama said the release of the prisoners did not represent a breakthrough in relations with North Korea and that conditions could only improve “when and if” North Korea dismantled its nuclear weapon program.

“Until that time, [there’s] going to be a core problem between us,” Obama said during a press conference in Beijing.