www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapc...eref=rss_world(CNN) -- Two U.S. journalists who were detained in North Korea while covering the plight of defectors living along the China-North Korea border have been sentenced to 12 years in labor prisons, the country's state-run media said Monday.
Euna Lee has been in North Korean custody since March, when she and another reporter were detained.
Euna Lee has been in North Korean custody since March, when she and another reporter were detained.
Click to view previous image
1 of 2
Click to view next image
The Central Court of North Korea sentenced Laura Ling and Euna Lee for the "grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing," the Korean Central News Agency said.
As a result, the court sentenced the women to "12 years of reform through labor," meaning they will serve out their sentence in a labor prison.
A U.S. State Department spokesman, Ian Kelley, said the Swedish ambassador in North Korea confirmed the sentence with North Korean authorities. Sweden represents U.S. interests in North Korea; the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with North Korea.
"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," Kelley said in a statement. "We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds."Video Watch how U.S.-North Korea negotiations may proceed »
White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said President Obama had been informed of the reports.
Don't Miss
* N. Korea bars observers at reporters' trial
* Japanese researcher recalls imprisonment in N. Korea
* Families plead for reporters held in N. Korea
* In-depth: North Korea nuclear tension
"The president is 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," he said.
Ling and Lee were taken into custody March 17. They are reporters for California-based Current TV, a media venture of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.
According to media reports, the trial began Thursday. Much of the time, the only news coming from the secretive and isolated communist nation is relayed through the state media. Video Watch what led to the sentencing »
The U.S. State Department was informed by the Swedish ambassador to North Korea that no observers were allowed in the courtroom
The State Department was notified the reporters had a defense attorney, but was not given the lawyer's name.
Several senior administration officials said 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.
No answer has come so far, but the expectation is that once the trial ended, the North would accept a visit by either Gore or Richardson to secure the journalists' release.
Richardson served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary during the Clinton administration, and he has maintained contacts with North Korea. He took several trips there as ambassador, and he has worked for the release of people held by the North Koreans in the past.
North Korea charged the reporters with illegal entry into the country, "hostile acts" and spying.
The women's families broke months of silence last week, making public pleas for their release. Video Watch the women's families discuss the detention »
"When the girls left the United States, they never intended to cross into North Korean soil. And if they did at any point, we apologize," Ling's sister, Lisa, a special correspondent for CNN, said Wednesday. Video Watch Lisa Ling describe what little families know »
Contact with the women has been extremely limited.
advertisement
The Swedish ambassador was allowed to see them three times.
Despite the limited communication, the families said they'd heard enough to know the women were "terrified" and "extremely scared."