North Korea says it will try detained U.S. journalists

(ATTN: UPDATES with U.N. committee to report on N.K. firms to be added to list,
Pyongyang not mentioned in Clinton's report, pro-Pyongyang paper's warning of 2nd
nuke test)
By Kim Hyun

SEOUL, April 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Friday that it will put on trial two
U.S. female journalists detained in the country, announcing that its
investigation into their "crimes" has been concluded.
The announcement came hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a
strong message backing a U.N. action against North Korea's recent rocket launch.
A U.N. committee is expected on Saturday to report on North Korean firms whose
assets should be frozen for their ties to the country's nuclear and missile
programs.
The American journalists -- Euna Lee and Laura Ling from San Francisco-based
Current TV, started by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore -- were arrested by
North Korean guards near the border with China on March 17.
Pyongyang said on March 31 that an investigation was under way and that it was
preparing to indict them on charges of illegally entering the country and
engaging in unspecified "hostile acts."
"A competent organ of the DPRK (North Korea) concluded the investigation into the
journalists of the United States," the official Korean Central News Agency said
in a two-sentence report.
"The organ formally decided to refer them to a trial on the basis of the
confirmed crimes committed by them," it said, without specifying the charges.
The U.S. State Department said last week that diplomatic efforts were under way
to free the Americans. The Swedish embassy in the North has been handling affairs
involving the detained journalists as Washington does not have diplomatic
relations with Pyongyang.
North Korea earlier said consular contact was allowed and that the American
reporters were being treated "according to the relevant international laws."
Tensions have sharply risen since North Korea's rocket launch on April 5, which
the U.N. Security Council swiftly condemned as violating a U.N. resolution
barring its ballistic activity.
North Korea argued the launch had successfully orbited a satellite and defended
its sovereign right to develop space. Outside monitors said no such object has
entered space and that the launch was a disguised long-range missile test.
Pyongyang protested by withdrawing from nuclear disarmament talks and expelling
international monitors last week.
Secretary of State Clinton voiced a tougher position toward Pyongyang in a
congressional hearing on Wednesday, with no hint yet of bilateral dialogue
between the two sides.
"We have to be strong, patient and consistent and not give in to the kind of
back and forth and the unpredictable behavior of the North Korean regime,"
Clinton said. "I was pleased by the strong statement that we got unanimously
from the United Nations condemning the missile launch, saying that it was in
contravention of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718," she said.
But her 10-page report to Congress featuring U.S. foreign policies on
Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East and Iran had no mention of North Korea.
Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea studies professor at Dongguk University, said the
North's announcement that it will try the U.S. journalists could be a tit-for-tat
move aimed against Washington's toughened stance. "Pyongyang is urging Washington
to quickly start dialogue," he said.
Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan, warned North Korea may attempt
a second nuclear test.
The Barack Obama administration "should make diplomatic efforts to resolve
tension and distrust from the (North Korean) military if it intends to avoid
repeating the former administration's mistake that drove (North Korea) to a
nuclear test," the paper said on Friday, referring to the North's 2006 nuclear
test.
According to North Korea's 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" can be sent to labor
camps for five to 10 years. Heavier punishments can be imposed depending on the
seriousness of the crime. Seoul officials could not say whether this stipulation
would apply to the journalists.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul,
said North Korea is demonstrating its intention to solve the case according to
legal precedent and that its sentencing will depend on Washington's diplomatic
efforts.
"North Korea knows it may draw international criticism if it unjustly handles the
case," Yang said. "After the trial, North Korea can decide whether to grant them
a political pardon depending on developments in its relations with the U.S."
The Americans' detention is the third since 1994, when North Korea held a U.S.
pilot whose military chopper was shot down after straying into North Korea.
Two years later, another American citizen, Evan Hunziker, was held for three
months on suspicion of spying after swimming across the Yalu River bordering
North Korea and China. Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, then a U.S.
congressman, flew to Pyongyang to successfully negotiate his release.
A South Korean worker also remains in detention in North Korea for a fourth week
on allegations of criticizing Pyongyang's political system and trying to incite a
local female employee to defect.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)