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.
