Swedish Envoy Met Jailed U.S. Reporters

Women Convicted In North Korea In "Constant Contact" With Ambassador, State Department Says

(AP)  The United States says Sweden's ambassador in North Korea has visited two American reporters sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters that the ambassador visited the women Tuesday in Pyongyang. Kelly had no other details.

Sweden serves as the U.S. protecting power in North Korea.

The ambassador's last meeting with the women was June 1. Kelly says the ambassador has been in "constant contact" with the North, pressing for access. He says the United States is "pursuing many different avenues" to secure their release but would not elaborate.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were sentenced in June on charges of entering the North illegally and engaging in "hostile acts."

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"State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters that the ambassador visited the women Tuesday in Pyongyang."

Translation: Since the women were still in Pyongyang, it seems that the North Koreans are more interested in using the reporters as bargaining chips in later negotiations since they have not been sent off to a labor camp as of yet.