U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye discussed the recent trip to North Korea by U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper when they met earlier this week on the sidelines of a regional summit, an official said Thursday.

   Park and Obama held a one-on-one meeting in Beijing Tuesday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The meeting came just three days after Clapper made a secret trip to Pyongyang and brought two detained American citizens home.

   "At APEC, the President went out of his way to speak with President Park of South Korea, and Prime Minister Abe of Japan, to discuss with them the recent trip from Director Clapper to North Korea," U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters, according to a White House pool report.

   It was the first U.S. comment on the Obama-Park meeting. The White House didn't issue a press release at the time.

   South Korean officials said after the talks that the two leaders discussed the North's release of the two U.S. citizens and vowed to strengthen efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program.

   U.S. officials have said that no reward was given to Pyongyang in exchange for the release of the two. They've also stressed that Clapper made the visit with the "sole purpose" of obtaining the release and the trip was not aimed at pursuing any diplomatic opening with the communist nation. (Yonhap)