UNITED NATIONS; UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday hailed the release of US journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling who returned home from North Korea a day after they were pardoned by that country's leader, Kim Jong-Il.

"The secretary general welcomes the release of the two American journalists during the visit to Pyongyang by former US president Bill Clinton," a UN statement said.

"He appreciates the decision of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to release them as a humanitarian consideration, responding to the repeated calls by the international community," it added.

Ling and Lee faced 12 years' hard labor before they were pardoned by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il following Clinton's surprise mission -- the highest-level US trip to North Korea in almost a decade.

Ban congratulated Clinton for his "successful humanitarian mission" and reiterated his hope that "dialogue will resume at the earliest possible time between the DPRK and the parties concerned towards resolving outstanding concerns including the nuclear issue."