U.S. Journalists Sentenced to 12 Yrs. Hard Labor in N. Korea

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 8, 2009 - 10:57am.

Seoul, South Korea - Two American journalists from Web and TV network Current TV have been found guilty by North Korea's highest court of "committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry," and sentenced by to 12 years of hard labor, The New York Times reports.

Current's Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, were arrested in March near the border between China and North Korea while reportedly working on a story about the trafficking of women from North Korea into China.

A White House statement said that the U.S. is "engaged through all possible channels to secure their release."

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson said on the "Today" show that the U.S. could seek a "political pardon, some sort of respite from political proceedings," adding, "In previous instances where I was involved in negotiating, you could not get this started until the legal process had ended."

http://snipurl.com/jpje9 (Los Angeles Times)

http://www.current.com