U.S. repeats call for N. Korea to free American journalists held in Pyongyang

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 18 (Yonhap) -- The United States Monday repeated its call for
North Korea to free two American journalists detained in the North for alleged
illegal entry.

"We remain concerned about their welfare and hope they can be returned to their
families in the U.S. as soon as possible," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly
said. "We continue to work on this matter through a number of channels, but
unfortunately I'm not able to give you any details of the meeting itself in terms
of duration or their health condition or any detail."
Kelly was discussing the separate visits to Euna Lee and Laura Ling of Current
TV, a San Francisco-based Internet news outlet, by Swedish ambassador Mats Foyer
on Friday. It was the second consular access as the Swedish envoy to Pyongyang
met with them the first time on March 30.
The Swedish Embassy handles consular affairs involving American citizens in North
Korea, as Washington does not have diplomatic relations with the North.
North Korea said last week that the reporters will be put on trial June 4 on
charges of illegal entry and "hostile acts."
The journalists, detained near the Chinese border with North Korea on March 17
while reportedly filming the North Korean side for their news coverage of North
Korean refugees, face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week said she hoped the North's
decision to try them next month signaled their early release, apparently bearing
in mind another American journalist, Roxana Saberi, who was set free last week on
a suspended prison term after getting an eight-year sentence for espionage in
Iran.
Kelly was not sure if the second consular access in six weeks enhanced chances of
their early release.
"Sure, it is a good thing," he said. "But whether it's a positive signal that
they will be released, I'm just not prepared to say that."
Some analysts say North Korea is attempting to use the reporters to establish
bilateral contact with the U.S. amid tension that has escalated since its April 5
rocket launch.
North Korea withdrew from the six-party talks on ending its nuclear programs in
response to the U.N. Security Council's rebuke over the launch, which Pyongyang
says was part of a legitimate space program to put a satellite into orbit.
Pyongyang has also threatened to conduct further nuclear and ballistic missile
tests and restart its disabled nuclear facilities unless the Security Council
apologizes.
Two Americans were detained in North Korea briefly in the 1990s before being
released after visits to Pyongyang by Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, then a
U.S. congressman.
In 1994, North Korea detained a U.S. pilot whose military chopper was shot down
after straying across the border. Another American citizen, Evan Hunziker, was
held for three months in 1996 on suspicion of spying after swimming the Yalu
River bordering North Korea and China.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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