Clinton Urges Amnesty for Two Reporters

Reporters Sentenced to Hard Labor in North Korea Expressed "Great Remorse"

(AP)  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday urged North Korea to grant amnesty to two American reporters sentenced to 12 years of hard labor last month for illegally entering North Korea.

Clinton said the reporters have expressed "great remorse for this incident" and called on the North to allow Laura Ling and Euna Lee to quickly return home to their families.

"Everyone is very sorry that it happened," Clinton said.

The request for amnesty is a shift from previous U.S. calls for the women to be released on humanitarian grounds. It follows comments from Ling's family that Ling had acknowledged breaking North Korean law during a recent phone call. Ling also reportedly told her family that she and Lee need the U.S. government's help.

The women were working for U.S.-based Current TV. The North said they documented their journey into North Korea, even pocketing a stone to commemorate the illicit trip across the frozen Tumen River from China.

"This is a regrettable incident," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters later Friday.

"North Korea announced that these two journalists had been convicted, legal process. Accepting that, we simply have called for their release, and we hope that happens as soon as possible," he said.

[mjvwsr]

"Clinton Urges Amnesty for Two Reporters: such a strong statement from our secretary of state. makes you proud of the leadership the administration is demonstrating throughout the world. what a joke.

[hamiltongrad]

Gore = Money= Ransom

Why hasn't VP Gore held responsible for this tragedy, always pushing for the better story, better ratings, being sure that others were taking the risk, while who was making the money on his "channel." At the very least, he could and should offer a sizable ransom for these poor young women.

[John_Merritt]

Even though this may appear to be a benign event, it sets the stage for N. Korea's ability and want to establish negotiations at any level. If they are going to be hard and fast with their rules on a civil (or criminal in their eyes) matter; than we have a lot to be concerned with because the mindset of any terrorist nation rests with their desire to attain mutual understanding for only their side.

As most know by now these young ladies were made an example for the rest of us, N. Korea means business and they are making a statement. The world is watching both parties. This should be interesting for the Obama administration. I wonder if we could barter with them? We can send them some Jackson memorabilia along with anything else we can think of, and they can return our women? Just a thought.

[scipius]

In the North Korean army, you can't become an officer unless you infiltrate through the "demilitarized zone" and come back with a souvenir proving you were in the South. US border soldiers routinely leave hats and packages from MRE's (soldiers' rations) for the northerners to find so that they'll just go back quickly; those who get lost usually end up trying to shoot their way back. Friends of mine have been wounded in such incidents. Maybe we ought to take the opportunity to set out some booby traps so we can take a few prisoners and barter them for the reporters- after all, if we cut off the escape route from the infiltrating, we've cut off their promotion method. Soldiers don't like not being able to be promoted - it causes lots of problems.