Laura Ling and Euna Lee are two American journalists who have been detained in North Korea since March 18, 2009 after being charged with illegal entry into the country, hostile acts and spying. They traveled to the region to report on defectors living along the border of China and North Korea. A trial was held over the past five days and today they were sentenced to serve 12-years in a labor prison.
The Central Court of North Korea handed down the sentence, citing the “grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing”. Their punishment will be “12 years of reform through hard labor”, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The U.S. State Department is currently trying to confirm this information with North Korean authorities. Spokesman Ian Kelley said, “We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release. We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds.”
President Barack Obama, who is currently traveling in Europe on a diplomatic mission, has been notified of the latest developments, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton.
Asian media reports indicate that the trial started on Thursday and that the women were represented by court appointed representation. The State Department was informed by the Swedish ambassador to North Korea that there were no observers allowed in the courtroom during the proceedings.
Laura Ling is managing editor of Vanguard at Current TV. Her sister, CNN special correspondent Lisa Ling said, “When the girls left the United States, they never intended to cross into North Korean soil. And it they did at any point, we apologize.”
Contact with the two women has been very limited, but their families report that Ling and Lee are “terrified”.
BREAKING NEWS: August 4, 2009 – North Korean President Kim Jong II has pardoned and ordered the release of two U.S. journalists, state-run news agency KCNA said on Wednesday. The announcement came after former President Bill Clinton met with top North Korean officials to appeal for the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been arrested while reporting from the border between North Korea and China.
The brokered deal was apparently in the works for months. Clinton only agreed to travel to North Korea after assurances that the two women would be allowed to travel back to the U.S. with the former President and his travel party.
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