North Korea frees U.S. journalists Lee and Ling

Former president Bill Clinton brought home two freed U.S. journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, from North Korea after a rare talk with leader Kim Jong Il. The North Korean dictator pardoned the women for entering the country illegally; they had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor during the time of their arrest.

Lee and Ling returned to the U.S. with Clinton within 24 hours of his arrival to Seoul for a humanitarian trip. Clinton arrived in an effort to free the journalists, whose captivity has troubled and been protested by many Americans during the past five months. According to reports, Lee and Ling appeared healthy upon boarding the plane to their flight home and were reunited with their families in Burbank, Calif.

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Journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee to be tried in North Korea

Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Photo source: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/05/14/alg_protest2.jpg

Excerpt from today’s Los Angeles Times article:

North Korea put two American television journalists on trial today for allegedly entering the country illegally after vigils calling for their release were held in at least nine cities across the United States, including Los Angeles.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, journalists working for San Francisco-based Current TV, were arrested after they allegedly crossed the border from China on March 17 while reporting a story on North Korean refugees…

In a terse, one sentence statement, the sate-run Korean Central News Agency said today that the trial of the two reporters would begin at 3 p.m. at the Central Court, the country’s top court in Pyongyang. North Korea rarely gives updates of ongoing events inside the country.

Please keep Ling and Lee in your thoughts and prayers.

– posted by Debbie Chong

Laura Ling and Euna Lee detained in North Korea

Asian Pacific American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee  were detained on March 17 and will be tried  in North Korea for “illegal entry” and “suspected hostile acts.”

A Swedish diplomat has met with them on the behalf of the U.S. but at this time there are no details about their meeting, nor North Korea’s reasons for detaining the women.  It is possible that the detainment is related to North Korea’s plans to send a satellite into space between April 4 and 8 despite the objections of other countries.

News courtesy of the Huffington Post, March 30.

– posted by Debbie Chong