N. Korea says trial of two U.S. journalists will begin at 3 p.m.

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By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- Two detained U.S. journalists were to stand trial in
North Korea's highest court on Thursday afternoon, Pyongyang's news agency said,
facing charges believed to carry a sentence of up to 10 years in a labor camp.

The Korean Central News Agency said the trial of Laura Ling and Seung-eun Lee,
known as Euna Lee in her home country, will begin at 3 p.m. at the Central Court,
the country's top court in Pyongyang.
The one-sentence report did not specify the charges leveled against them, only
saying the trial will proceed "on the basis of the indictment already brought
against them." The news agency earlier said they had illegally entered the
country and committed "hostile" acts.
The journalists from Current TV, a San Francisco-based Internet outlet co-founded
by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, were detained near the North Korean border
with China on March 17 while filming a documentary about North Korean defectors,
a sore subject for Pyongyang.
The upcoming trial is seen by North Korea watchers as a sign that the communist
state may be anticipating direct dialogue with the Barack Obama administration so
as to trade their release with political concessions.
North Korea has been relatively quick to make public its handling of the case,
reporting on their arrest, indictment and trial plans. In a highly unusual move,
it even announced the time of the trial.
The North also allowed the Americans to call their families last week. Consular
contacts were made through the Swedish mission in Pyongyang. Washington has no
diplomatic relations with the North.
North Korean criminal law stipulates a maximum of 10 years in a labor camp for
the charges leveled against the reporters. Seoul officials say the upcoming
ruling will be final, as the top court does not allow appeals. Analysts generally
believe the Americans will be released if or when negotiations with the U.S. make
progress.
"We, again, hope that North Korea will, you know, forgo this legal process and
return them to the United States," Philip Crowley, U.S. assistant secretary of
state for public affairs, said in a briefing on Wednesday (Washington time).
In a telling contrast, North Korea has given no word about a detained South
Korean worker. The Hyundai Asan Corp. employee was detained in the North's border
town of Kaesong on March 30 for criticizing the North's political system.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said Thursday that the government
does not know where he is, as North Korea refuses to discuss the issue or allow
access to him.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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