Reporters get 12-year terms in N. Korea
Pastor Dale Morgan
Reporters get 12-year terms in N. Korea*
* Story Highlights
* NEW: KCNA: Central Court of North Korea sentences Ling, Lee for
"grave crime"
* They are reporters for Current TV, former U.S. Vice President Al
Gore's venture
* North Korea barred observers at trial
* U.S. State Department spokesman says trial began Thursday
(CNN) -- Two U.S. journalists who were detained in North Korea while
covering the plight of defectors living along the China-North Korea
border have been sentenced to 12 years in labor camps, the country's
state-run media said Monday.
Euna Lee has been in North Korean custody since March when she and
another reporter were detained.
The Central Court of North Korea sentenced Laura Ling and Euna Lee for
the "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their
illegal border crossing," the Korean Central News Agency said.
As a result, the court sentenced the women to "12 years of reform
through labor," meaning they will serve out their sentence in a labor camp.
The U.S. State Department said it had seen the reports of the
convictions and was trying to confirm it with Korean authorities.
"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," said spokesman
Ian Kelley in a statement. "We once again urge North Korea to grant the
immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on
humanitarian grounds."
Ling and Lee were taken into custody March 17. They are reporters for
California-based Current TV, a media venture of former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore. Video Watch more on Monday's sentencing of the
journalists »
According to media reports, the trial began Thursday. Much of the time,
the only news coming from the secretive and isolated communist nation is
relayed through the state media.
The U.S. State Department was informed by the Swedish ambassador to
North Korea that no observers were allowed in the courtroom
Sweden represents the United States in North Korea, because the two
countries, which fought on opposite sides during the three-year Korean
War in the 1950s, do not have diplomatic relations.
The State Department was notified the reporters had a defense attorney,
but was not given the lawyer's name.
Several senior administration officials said the idea of sending either
Gore or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang on a mission to get
the journalists released has been floated to the North Koreans.
No answer has come so far, but the expectation is that once the trial
ended the North would accept a visit by either Gore or Richardson to
secure their release.
Richardson served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and
energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and he has
maintained contacts with North Korea. He took several trips there as
ambassador, and he has worked for the release of people held by the
North Koreans in the past.
North Korea charged the reporters with illegal entry into the country,
"hostile acts" and spying.
The women's families broke months of silence last week, making public
pleas for their release.
"When the girls left the United States, they never intended to cross
into North Korean soil. And if they did at any point, we apologize,"
Laura Ling, Ling's sister, said Wednesday.
"And we know that they are very, very sorry. And we ask that you show
mercy today," added Ling, a special correspondent for CNN.
Contact with the women has been extremely limited.
The Swedish ambassador was allowed to see them three times.
Despite the limited communication, the families said they'd heard enough
to know the women were "terrified" and "extremely scared."