Politics

Updated July 09, 2009

U.S. Calls for Amnesty for Reporters Held by North Korea

by  

AP

The U.S. has called for amnesty for two American reporters who have been imprisoned for illegally entering North Korea.

The United States is calling for North Korea to grant amnesty to two reporters sentenced last month to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering the North.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly's call for amnesty Thursday for Euna Lee and Laura Ling marks a shift from past U.S. calls for their release on humanitarian grounds.

Ling's sister told a U.S. TV station that Laura acknowledged breaking North Korean law during a recent phone call and that she and Lee need the U.S. government's help in obtaining amnesty.

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

Latest   Politics Videos

Real  Clear Politics Poll

Job Approval Approve Disapprove Spread
Obama 51.3% 43.1% +8.2%
Congress 25.0% 67.0% -42.0%
Direction of Country Right Direction Wrong Track Spread
RCP Average 38.2% 55.8% -17.6%

Most  Active In Politics