N. Korea Sentences 2 U.S. Reporters to 12 Years Labor Prison

Originally posted by chise61
although i'm sure it probably wasn't anythimg major.

i dont know

if you came into my backyard sneaking around

i would think you were a criminal too

why cannot people understand this?

Originally posted by Karlhungis
That is a very hefty penalty. The reporters had to know the consequences of their actions though. I wonder if North Korea will try to use them for some political leverage?

that is exactly what will happen

great foresight Karl

they are bargaining chips now for sure

*perhaps the main reason why they did not get executed*

reply to post by chise61

They were talking to citizens of the state without formal permission or supervision. That is a serious crime in North Korea, for which other journalists have been imprisoned. Translation: spying, even if it is for a media outlet.

reply to post by muzzleflash


You misread my post. I wasn't referring to the border crossing, i was referring to the other crime.

These 2 reporters knew what they were getting into.
Honestly, they don't have any sympathy by me.
The case is more "high profile" now just because one is the sister of Lisa Ling.

Honestly, I don't know what these 2 were thinking.

North Korea will certainly use them as leverage, they would be stupid not to.

Hopefully they will eventually come back home in a few months.

Actually it cannot be confirmed if they actually crossed the border or were on the Chinese side of the border and snatched by an overzealous North Korean Patrol.

reply to post by haika

What they were doing was stupid in a sense but it needs to be done. That regime needs to GO for the good of their own people, and there is no way for that to happen without an internal revolution and documentation
of their crimes. They get rid of dissidents including those beyond their borders much like China has been documented to do, don't wait for too many refugees to speak out publicly.

Not to mention, they were doing their jobs, journalism is not about shaking hands, it's about shaking foundations.

reply to post by secretagent woooman


Ah i see, Thanks. I understand the sentence now. I watched a show the other year and saw the rules that reporters have to follow over there. Something like a reporter talking to someone over here is nothing to us, but yes it is a very serious crime over there. I hope they can be convinced to release them.

reply to post by secretagent woooman


It may be needed to be done, but what I'm saying is that they probably knew the consequences if they got caught.

They took that risk

This might sound harsh, but tough luck!

They crossed the border illegally into a country.

Everyone knows, when you go overseas and ignore the laws of those countries you face the consequences, no matter how harsh they may seem.

If only western countries where as tough as this on illegal’s into the country, they might be a lot better.

Mikey

reply to post by TwiTcHomatic


Yey \o/ Al Gore FTW! I'll see your 2 captives and raise you an Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Ben Bernanke, Lil' Timmy Geithner, Chris Dodd AND a Nanci Pelosi.

CALL? Heh. All I have is a handful of hope... and it failed. Just ace of spades.

Weak huh