Don't be fooled by that photo of an unsmiling Bill Clinton sitting next to a dour Kim Jong Il.

Both men wore grim expressions for the cameras, but they must have been smiling inwardly because both got what they wanted from the former president's visit to North Korea.

Mr. Clinton won the release of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. The former president delivered his charges Wednesday back to their much-relieved families minutes after touching down in California. The dramatic release ended an agonizing ordeal that began when the two journalists were seized near the China-North Korea border in March. In this case, it's safe to say mission accomplished.

North Korea's volatile president got what he wanted, too -- a visit from a high-ranking U.S. emissary. In Mr. Kim's view, it bestows some much needed respect on a regime that has been branded an international scofflaw for its brazen violations of U.N. sanctions against building a nuclear arsenal.

Was it worth it? For the families of the women, the answer is an unequivocal Yes. Their safe release is an occasion all Americans should welcome. Misadventures in North Korea rarely end this well.

The visit also allowed Mr. Clinton to get a close-up view of North Korea's secretive leader, who recently suffered a stroke. If Mr. Clinton can win some insight into Mr. Kim's state of mind and health, that's useful information that can guide U.S. policy.

But it will take more than a humanitarian gesture to establish goodwill with the endlessly reckless Mr. Kim. Pardoning the two U.S. women should not be linked to nuclear-weapons issues.

Mr. Kim won't win the respect he craves until Korea returns to the six-nation forum for negotiation and he lives up to his promises to shut down banned nuclear programs and facilities.

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