US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday said efforts to get two American journalists released and to get an international sanction against Pyongyang are "entirely separate matters".

"We view these as entirely separate matters," the top diplomat told reporters after meeting with her Indonesian counterpart Noer Hassan Wirajuda.

"We think the imprisonment, trial and sentencing of Laura (Ling) and Euna (Lee) should be viewed as a humanitarian matter. We hope that the North Koreans will grant clemency and deport them," said Clinton.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) sentenced the two journalists, who were captured in March for allegedly crossing the border from China and committing "hostile actions" against the country, to 12 years of "reform through labor".

"There are other concerns that we and the international community have with North Korea, but those are separate and apart from what's happening to the two journalists," said Clinton.

"We are pursuing every possible approach that we can consider in order to persuade the North Koreans to release them and send these young women home," said the secretary.

Some analysts say that by this sentence against the two US journalists, the DPRK hopes to force the Obama administration to take practical measures to approach Pyongyang, further to launch a direct dialogue process toward the normalization of the two countries' relations.

Reports here say former president Al Gore is expected to be the administration's envoy on dealing with the affair. Gore is also the co-founder of Current TV, the employer of Laura and Euna.

On May 25, the DPRK announced it has "successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test," which Pyongyang said has demonstrated "self-defensive nuclear deterrent".

The nuclear test and the following missile tests have worsened the security situation in Northeast Asia.

The United States has been working with the UN Security Council to pass a strong resolution to make Pyongyang realize that it must "pay a price" for its provocative actions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2009)