The journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and “hostile acts” against North Korea but were pardoned in August after a trip to North Korea by former President Bill Clinton.

The two soldiers appeared in a North Korean state television program broadcast Thursday to commemorate the 18th anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s assumption of command of the country’s army, Yonhap reported.

The program’s anchor said Mr. Kim, North Korea’s leader, had given them an award for seizing Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee, and had also granted them special leave, according to Yonhap.

Ryugyong's construction has recently continued and looks more modern

The partial reconstruction of Ryugyong appears to be going good after it was found that an Egyptian telecoms company was investing in finishing the Rygyong Hotel.

Ryugyong was under intensive construction for years in the early 90’s but construction stopped when North Korea’s economy crashed with the collapse of the Soviet Union and around the time of the great famine.

However, now, Ryugyong appears to look modernised and construction continues.

Pictures from North Korea show at least one side has been glass panelled.

The top part of the hotel will house the revolving restaurant and the very top will most likely house the telecoms mast.

US Activist Robert Park

The US based activist Robert Park has been arrested in North Korea after crossing a poorly guarded stretch of the Tumen River which seperates China and North Korea.

Robert Park has recently become increasingly involved with Anti-DPRK activist groups.

According to two people who watched him cross that Park said “I am an American citizen. I brought God’s love. God loves you and God bless you” in fluent Korean as he crossed the river on Friday. His crossing was apparently filmed.

The US State Department has said  “The U.S. government places the highest priority on the protection and welfare of American citizens.”

This could complicate the negotiation process that was improving between the US and North Korea recently.

Author-journalist Christopher Hitchens describes the state of fear he witnessed during a visit to North Korea.

This is a story of a defector from North Korea, who was an officer at DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and crossed over the 38th parallel north.

Fifty-six years ago, the Korean War paused with an armistice at Panmunjom. Korea was divided into two nations.

The incident of him represents the reality of ‘38th parallel north’ as a legacy of the war. In other words, this is the tragedy of the ‘present’ that the ‘past’ war caused rather than a personal one.

The girl had already been homeless for about two years before meeting Kim, and he did not control her after offering his house as a shelter to her request. So we don’t acknowledge the prosecution’s claim that Kim made the minor (engage in sexual activity) away from her parents’ protection

They had sex, but she did not demand money and he did not give her money. He provided her with shelter, food and about 20,000 won pocket money, but there is no evidence that the offering was in exchange for sex.

This will widely be seen as a good will gesture by North Korea – as all of the infrastructure is controlled by the ruling elite and something as substantial as this would be at the close attention of Kim Jong-il.

Euna and Laura were arrested on the Chinese-North Korea border, however it is rumoured that they were arrested on the Chinese side of the border after North Korean soldiers crossed over. This cannot be verified at the present stage though.

It is widely believed that North Korea will use the detained reporters as ‘bargaining chips’ to gain concessions from abroad, as it has done in the past.

Arrested US Journalists: Laura Ling and Euna Kim

The two US journalists, who were arrested on the China-North Korea border by North Korean border-guards on March 17 while on a reporting trip, are to stand trial for suspected ‘hostile acts’.

Rumor has it that Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested on the Chinese side of the border, after North Korean guards crossed over.

The United States is now diplomatically seeking the release of ‘their citizens’.

Swedish diplomats visited the two individually, but could not mention their condition. Since the US has no official ties with North Korea, the Swedish embassy is

This comes amid tensions in the region due to North Korea’s imminent long range missile launch that the US, South Korea, and Japan are attempting to halt.

The North is known for kidnappings of South Korean and Japanese citizens during the 1980’s, most prominently a Japanese film maker and his wife who went on to produce North Korean films, such as Pulgasari, under the instruction of ‘Dear Leader’ Kim Jong-Il. It is also known for it’s draconian law enforcement.

However, many thing’s are illegal in North Korea – mobile phones, global travel, and having dogs in the inner city – yet alone American journalists who potentially carry mobile phones, video cameras, and the sort!

The outcome of the trial is uncertain, but most probably they’ll be returned to the US. The most that could happen is they use the journalists as a bargaining tool, almost as hostages, which North Korea tends to do with many things such as missile launches and nuclear scenarios. But if this were a North Korean, they’d most likely be shot, or worse off; sent for strict ‘re-education’ or a harsh prison (some dubbed concentration camps).

Pyongyang has in the past freed Americans it has detained.

In 1996, the US negotiated the release of US citizen Evan Hunziker, who had been detained for three months on suspicion of ’spying’ after swimming the Yalu river (apparently drunk!)

In 1994, a US military helicopter pilot shot down after straying into North Korea was released after negotiations.

In a separate case, the North detained a South Korean at a joint industrial estate in the communist state for allegedly criticising the political system and encouraging a North Korean worker to defect.

Kim Jong-Il wants the perfect pizza for North Korea

When Kim Jong-Il found that the North Korean chefs made ‘errors’ with their italian food cooking, he sent them to Naples and Rome to learn first hand in the homeland of the pizza.

Kim Jong-Il, the North Korean ‘Great Leader’, is known for his exquisite food tastes and fondness of western food.

In the late 1990s Kim brought a team of Italian pizza chefs to North Korea to train his army officers how to make good pizzas.

The pizza eating luxury is now only available to a tiny elite able to afford such luxuries, whereas the majority of the population endure harsh food shortages.

Despite the food shortages high-quality Italian wheat, flour, butter and cheese are being imported to ensure the perfect pizza is created every time.

“Our people should be also allowed to enjoy the world-famous food,” the manager of the Pyongyang eatery quoted Kim as saying, according to the Tokyo-based Choson Sinbo newspaper.

Apparently the restaurant had proved to be a major hit after it opened in the capital Pyongyang in December. However, it is common knowledge that only the cities elite and tightly-leashed tourists can only afford such luxuries.