Politics | 05/14/2009 9:15 am

North Korea to Try American Journalist in June

Euna Lee and Laura Ling will be put on trial next month.

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Euna Lee and Laura Ling will soon get their day in a North Korean court.

The communist government released a short statement yesterday informing the world that the American journalists will be put on trial next month for "illegal entry" and "hostile acts". Lee and Ling, who work for Al Gore’s Current TV, were detained in March near the North’s border with China.

They were reportedly working on a piece about refugees fleeing the country. If convicted, Lee and Ling, the sister of former "View" co-host Lisa Ling, could face ten years of hard labor, but many suspect the journalists won’t receive a fair trial in North Korea, which has a less-than-friendly relationship with the United States.

Read more about: Al Gore, Current TV, Euna Lee, Laura Ling, News, North Korea

6 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

"won’t receive a fair trial in North Korea" … Ya think ?

I hope there are some really, really good back channel activities going on here, like with the "journalist" in Iran. But I’m afraid Kin Jong Il makes Ahmadinajhad ( I’m a dinner jacket - Joy Behar ) look like a pussycat.

Can’t imagine what their parents are going through !

By EKA - on 05/14/2009 9:42 am

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Of course—another publicity stunt like the Iranians did with Roxana.

By f p on 05/14/2009 10:05 am

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Absolutely a publicity stunt…no respect for Obama, they know that nothing will be done. They get their 15 min of fame on the world stage and our citizens suffer for it.

By Kelly In Texas on 05/14/2009 5:53 pm

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These young women are putting their lives on the line for a story. We get it, you don’t have to do that. You will not be protected and you may lose your life. And, it puts the whole Country in a precarious position. Nowadays, you have to think beyond what you want to achieve and look at the big picture. We cheer for every journalist that makes it but not all do. Yes, go after a story but not to the degree that is so dangerous it isn’t worth it.

By Judy K. on 05/14/2009 10:22 am

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We have to hope that the same attention given to the journalist in Iran will be given by the State Department to these two young ladies as well.

What most people are not commenting on, is that these are people not of Korean lineage. Most Asian countries are very centralist, meaning that "misbehaving foreigners", both by birth and by blood, are not tolerated. The North Koreans are a particularly agressive example of this.

In fact, if these young women were not Asian, their time in North Korea would be easier.

My prayers are with them, and my hopes are that our State department is taking this as seriously as the situation in Iran.

(and again, there’s the ugly white guy in some prison somewhere, who is waiting for ANYBODY to realize he’s there…. how the media works is beyond me)

By nanchan u on 05/14/2009 8:57 pm

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Since it’s working for Iran…North Koreas’ dictator, who LOVES the cameras, wants to get in on the action and upset it causes the Americans too. And ,of course, the press gives him another 15 minutes…Journalists take risks when they go into these countries and if these reporters are so ignorant as to think they can take their American free-press with them, well…this is what happens…

By laureen f on 05/15/2009 7:40 am