North Korea Labor Camps Lock American Journalists Away

Ling, Lee’s lives hang in the balance

It pays to be careful exactly where you walk in this world, as most people seem to be into fencing off land which they can never truly own. As a result, a simple nature walk can lead you onto someone’s “property.” Encroaching on privately owned property can net you a warning and an request to vacate, but wandering onto government territory (or worse, crossing international boundaries without permission) is a much more serious infraction. I’m not talking about a small fine that can be paid with fast cash and cash loans. I’m talking kangaroo trial and imprisonment.

Just such a trespassing has created an international incident between North Korea and the United States. Laura Ling (Wikipedia) and Euna Lee (wiki) have been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of North Korea’s labor camps. Despite Lisa Ling’s pleas for clemency, the future is uncertain for the two U.S. journalists who have been convicted of a “grave crime” against the North Korean regime.

Into the gulag

John Glionna reports for the Los Angeles Times that the two American TV journalists “face a grim future in a notorious gulag system.” David Hawk, an expert on North Korean labor camps, claims that hard labor, torture and death are very real possibilities that the Asian-American journalists will face. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "North Korea Labor Camps Lock American Journalists Away"