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Analysis: N. Korea to try U.S. journalists
Seoul (UPI) April 1, 2009 North Korea has ruled out an early political compromise for the release of two American journalists it has detained. Instead, it has decided to put them on trial, a legal process that would take more than three months. The North's toughening stance, also evidenced by the detention of a South Korean visitor on Monday, is posing a burden for U.S.-led allies who aim to punish Pyongyang if it goes ahead with a missile launch slated for as early as this week, analysts said. North Korean state media said Tuesday that the two U.S. journalists arrested two weeks ago on its border with China will be put on trial for "hostile acts" and illegal entry. "The illegal entry of U.S. reporters into the (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea) and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements, according to the results of intermediary investigation conducted by a competent organ of the DPRK," the North's Korean Central News Agency said. "The organ is carrying on its investigation and, at the same time, making a preparation for indicting them at a trial on the basis of the already confirmed suspicions," it said. The news agency did not elaborate on what "hostile acts" the journalists allegedly committed or say when they might appear in court, but officials and analysts in Seoul said the Americans could be tried for espionage. In a similar case that creates a burden for Seoul, the North has had custody since Monday of a South Korean engineer who works at the joint industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, Seoul's Unification Ministry said Tuesday. The man works for Hyundai Asan, which has developed the joint industrial park. He is accused of breaking North Korean law by denouncing Pyongyang's political system and inciting North Korean workers to flee the communist country. North Korea has refused to allow South Korean officials access to the worker, who could be punished on espionage charges. According to North Korean criminal law, foreigners who "infringe upon the bodies or the properties of North Korean citizens, living or temporarily staying overseas so as to exercise their hostility toward the Korean people" will be sent to jail for between five and 10 years. Conviction on charges of spying could draw 20 years in prison. The two female reporters, Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American -- both working for Current TV, the U.S.-based media outlet founded by former Vice President Al Gore -- were arrested March 17 while traveling near the North Korea-China border. They were taken by North Korean border guards while venturing onto the frozen border river to get a closer shot of the isolated country. It is still unclear which side of the border the two Americans were on. Activists in Seoul who have traveled to the border area said the North's soldiers often lure foreign travelers to come closer to the border and hold them for ransom. Four days later, on March 21, the North confirmed its arrest of the two Americans, indicating that Pyongyang and Washington spent early days in secret contacts for the release of the journalists. The United States, which does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, has relied on the Swedish Embassy in the North to represent Washington and contact the detained Americans. The U.S. State Department said Monday that a Swedish diplomat had visited the journalists over the weekend on behalf of Washington, providing no details. Officials and analysts said the North's decision to try the Americans reflects a failure of the initial contacts by the United States through Sweden. "They can hardly be released in the near future as the legal process will take three to six months," a government official said. "The legal step is largely aimed at keeping the United States from taking strong punitive measures against the North following its planned missile test," said Yoon Duk-min, a researcher at Seoul's state-run Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the North is expected to use the detention case to press for direct talks with the United States and win more concessions over its nuclear and missile programs. North Korea has announced that it will launch what it says is a communications satellite between April 4 and 8, warning it would retaliate against any attempts to intercept the rocket. The United States, Japan and South Korea believe the rocket is for a long-range ballistic missile designed to carry a nuclear warhead that could hit U.S. territory. The three allies have deployed five Aegis guided-missile destroyers to waters close to the North to detect and track a rocket from North Korea, or possibly to shoot it down. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Atlantic Eye: Branded by North Korea
Melbourne (UPI) Mar 30, 2009 He sits on stage -- gaunt, pale and uncomfortable. With each question, he winces and curls his lip -- pained by the intense memories. Born in North Korea's No. 14 Kaechon Political Prison Camp, it was the only life Shin Dong-hyuk had known until his escape. At 24, he was branded -- and already long abused -- by North Korea's despicable political system. |
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