Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
U.S. journalists say entered North Korea, arrested in China
Wed Sep 2, 2009 12:41am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL (Reuters) - Two U.S. journalists held by North Korea for illegal entry admitted they crossed into the reclusive state, but said North Korean guards arrested them on the Chinese side of the border and dragged them back into the country.
In their first public account, published on the Los Angeles Times website on Tuesday, Laura Ling and Euna Lee of Current TV said that when they set out onto the frozen river marking the border between the two countries they had no intention of leaving China.
"But when our guide beckoned for us to follow him beyond the middle of the river, we did, eventually arriving at the riverbank on the North Korean side," they said.
They quickly turned back toward the Chinese side of the border and saw armed North Korean guards chasing them, the pair said in their account of the March incident.
"We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us," they said.
If accurate, the border crossing by North Korean soldiers could prove problematic for Pyongyang, which relies on China for aid to prop up its broken economy.
The two were released in early August when former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang, where he met leader Kim Jong-il and secured their freedom.
POROUS BORDER
Relief agencies said tens of thousands of North Koreans fleeing poverty and famine have crossed over the relatively porous border with China over the years, with crossings increasing when rivers freeze over in winter or dry up in summer.
"We didn't spend more than a minute on North Korean soil before turning back, but it is a minute we deeply regret. To this day, we still don't know if we were lured into a trap," the women said.
The two journalists said they were violently dragged back to North Korea across the frozen river and taken to an army base.
"Over the next 140 days, we were moved to Pyongyang, isolated from one another, repeatedly interrogated and eventually put on trial and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor," they said.
They did not give a detailed account of the questioning.
The two were not sent to one of North Korea's labor camps, where defectors and human rights groups have said torture is common and prisoners often die due to brutal conditions.
The journalists were working on a report about the lives of North Koreans in China, who are seen by Beijing as economic migrants and forcibly repatriated, where they then almost always end up in a North Korean prison. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Bomb damages Athens stock market, one hurt
Also On Reuters
Healthcare: Radioactive for Republicans?
California mine digs in for "green" gold rush
After 76 years, last call draws near for 95-year-old bartender
More International News
Japan's new government seeks to reassure U.S.
Bomb damages Athens stock market, one hurt
Hurricane Jimena weakens as it hits western Mexico
| Video
Rebel Abkhazia threatens Georgia ships: Interfax
Taiwan asked by China to cancel Dalai Lama events: MP
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Schwarzenegger to take prison fight to U.S. Supreme Court
Smart Money Analysis-Hedge funds bet big on BofA, other banks
Fierce California fires tear into tattered budget
Battle lines drawn over soda, junk food taxes
U.S. journalists say entered North Korea, arrested in China
Healthcare protests a dilemma for Republicans
California mine digs in for "green" gold rush
Disney-Marvel benefits come with time lag, risks
Schwarzenegger to take prison fight to U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. auto sales boom; Hyundai, Ford gain ground | Video
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Obama agenda faces hurdles
First break for Cali firefighters
Jimena's winds slam Baja resort
New era for US/Japan relations?
California fires double in size
Latin America's sugar high
Obama warns of the H1N1 flu virus
Libya marks 40 years of Gaddafi
Talk of the Town
Pakistan launches new Swat offensive
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.