I can’t imagine why they would have passed that border for " only 30 seconds".  What would be the point in that?  I’ll look forward to Laura Ling’s story and explanation.  She’ll probably be on more than one talk show.  Should be quite interesting.

So, another young person, only 20, thought she too would be invincible in a foreign country.  I’m glad she escaped the death penalty, but she behaved stupidly and does deserve punishment.

I think that both of these stories are very telling.  People need to always abide by another country’s laws! 

I’m so disappointed that those women purposefully crossed into North Korea.  What were they thinking?  They shouldn’t be surprised if this changes people’s opinions of the situation!

I feel sorry for Samantha Orobator’s baby.  What a way to be brought into the world - regardless of the specifics.  I would certainly not wish death on Orobator but she did bring her problems upon herself.

And, while I would not necessarily call Ling and Lee’s actions "hostile", I don’t buy the "30 seconds" story either.  I agree with DeBurca.  They owe a lot of people apologies and should not benefit from their experience in any way.

In my late teens an older man who said he liked parties and young people in his life offered me a series of "free" trips. He explained that there was no catch. Coming home he would like us to bring a few things through customs for his dear mother. I suspected drugs and declined. I heard later that a few of the kids who took up his offer were detained in jail. Samantha Orobator had to know she was a drug mule and what the consequences might be. Certainly she knew that pregnancy would prevent her death. I am glad that her family managed to get her back to the UK but I don’t think she should be able to walk free. She needs time to realize that her actions caused grief not just to her but also to her family and child-to-be.

I understand the quest to cover a story by Laura Ling and Euna Lee. If they really never intended to cross the border they should not have been so close to it. As an Army brat I lived overseas for three different tours of duty. We were told there were no exceptions if we managed to get ourselves in trouble. We would be subject to the laws of the country we were visiting. As journalists Lee and Ling had to have known the same thing. In crossing to North Korea they became more than political prisoners they became economic pawns. While I applaud their efforts in trying to get their story they should have looked at the big picture before the initial crossing.

One day, in Paris, I had the wrong ticket for the Metro, so mine kept shooting back to me, while my friends were waiting on the other side of the turn-style. I asked them to buy me tickets - correct ones (I’d spent the prior day at La Defense so had that "outer" area ticket). They kept telling me to "jump over it," and other such nonsense, but I would not do that in the U.S. so certainly not in another country.

Eventually, a kindly Parisian came up behind me, and removed my ticket from my numb fingers, put one in and the turn-style rotated. Thanking him profusely, we chatted at bit, acknowledging my travel friends bad advice, when all of a sudden 3 young men vaulted over the turn-styles next to us.

WHAMMO! They were summarily nabbed by the police, and carted off. I’m sure they were watching me as my immature friends urged me on (one has traveled all over the world and should have known better). It goes to show - just don’t! Behave yourselves when visiting any place, period!  Each country has a time period before which they must report our presence as violating their laws to the U.S.

Besides, we had a friend working in the American Embassy there, and certainly did not want to interrup her job to hear that I was arrested!