Laura Ling Names Child After Bill Clinton

Laura Ling (R), journalist and Woman of the Year with sister Lisa Ling, attening the Glamour Magazine 2009 Women of The Year Honors at Carnegie Hall in November 2009. Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Laura Ling was released from North Korea with help from former president Clinton in August of last year. In return for the favor, Ling has announced that she will name her child after the former president.

Ling was detained by the North Korean government with a coworker for allegedly entering the country illegally. Some diplomatic strings were pulled to secure her freedom by former President Clinton and the favor has not been forgotten.

People Magazine confirmed that Laura Ling has named her child Li Jefferson Clayton after the former president by incorporating his middle name Jefferson as the child’s middle name.

Lisa Ling, Laura’s sister says that their parents are happy about their Laura’s freedom as well as her new child.

“Her parents are too speechless,” said Lisa Ling to People Magazine.

Laura Ling was detained in an isolation cell in North Korea for 140 days last summer and forced to say that she was a spy from the United States. Ling, along with her colleague Euna Lee, were doing a story on human trafficking of North Koreans into China who hoped to escape circumstances in their country. The journalists, who were at the China-North Korea border for the story, had crossed the border and were arrested by North Korean police.

Former President Clinton later met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il to secure the pair their freedom.