N. Korea court sentences U.S. journalists to 12 years of labor

BEIJING, June 8 Kyodo -
North Korea's top court sentenced two American journalists to 12 years of labor
for illegally crossing the border and committing a ''grave crime'' against the
country, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department reacted to the ruling with concern and
called for the release of the two U.S. citizens.
''We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American
citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all
possible channels to secure their release,'' State Department spokesman Ian
Kelly said in a statement.
''We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two
American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds,'' he said.
The ruling against Laura Ling and Euna Lee, handed down by the Central Court
after a five-day trial, is expected to be final as the supreme court does not
allow appeals.
Ling and Lee were captured by North Korean guards along the Tumen River border
with China on March 17 as they were working on a story for former U.S. Vice
President Al Gore's Current TV network.
''The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation
and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and
sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor,'' the KCNA said in
a short dispatch.
The report did not specify what the ''grave crime'' was.
With the ruling in place, the focus shifts to diplomatic efforts by the United
States to secure the release of the reporters.
CNN quoted senior U.S. government officials as saying the idea of sending
either Gore or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to Pyongyang on a mission to get
the journalists released has been floated to the North Koreans.
Washington and Pyongyang do not have diplomatic relations. The incident also
comes at a time when tensions are rising due to North Korea's rocket launch in
April and second nuclear test in May.
North Korea, which normally does not make trial schedules public, had made the
rare move of announcing Thursday that the trial was beginning later that day.
==Kyodo