Hillary Clinton Counters John Bolton's Criticism of North Korea Trip

Hillary Clinton had a response to former U.N. ambassador John Bolton's complaints about her husband's visit to North Korea to free journalists Euna and Laura Ling: a peal of laughter.

In an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that aired on Sunday, the secretary of state chuckled when asked about Bolton's comments, saying that Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea was in no way a negotiation with the belligerent state. Said Secretary Clinton:

It is absolutely not rewarding them. It is not in any way responding to specific demands. It is a recognition that specific countries that I think are kind of beyond the pale of the rule of law and hold people and subject them to long prison terms that are absolutely unfair and unwarranted. Maybe it's the fact that I have a daughter, but I believe that if we could bring these women home, we should.

Current U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also stepped into the fray over North Korea this past weekend. On CNN Sunday, Rice called Bolton's assessment "a ridiculous statement," while Kissinger, in Sunday's New York Times, warned that Clinton's visit could set a troubling precedent.