U.S. not ruling out Al Gore going to Pyongyang for detained journalists

(ATTN: CORRECTS lead to former Vice President Al Gore; ADDS more details, background
throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, June 4 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday did not rule out the
possibility of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore flying to North Korea to
negotiate the release of two American journalists detained for alleged illegal
entry while reporting in the area.
"This is such a sensitive issue, I'm just not going to go into those kinds of
discussions that we may or may not have had," State Department spokesman Ian
Kelly told reporters when asked about Gore's possible trip to Pyongyang. "The
bottom line is that these two young women should be released, but I'm not going
to go into any kind of details on what we will or won't do."
Speculation has mounted that Gore could visit the North Korean capital in his
capacity as chairman of Current TV, a San Francisco-based Internet news outlet,
for which Euna Lee and Laura Ling work.
North Korea said earlier in the day that the trial for the two reporters will be
held at 3 p.m. Thursday (Korean time), without elaborating.
Kelly said that he had "seen press reports that the trial has started," but added
that the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang, Mats Foyer, who handles consular
affairs involving American citizens in North Korea, was denied access to the
trial.
"We were informed through the Swedish ambassador that no observers would be
allowed at the trial," the spokesman said. "We don't really know anything about
how long it will take. And we continue to call for the release of these two
women."
Foyer has met with the journalists three times each since their detention on
March 17 on the Chinese border with North Korea.
Lee and Ling face up to 10 years in prison if convicted, as they are under trial
for alleged illegal entry and "hostile acts."
Previous detentions of U.S. citizens by North Korea lasted several months before
their eventual release.
A U.S. pilot was detained in North Korea in 1994 when his military chopper was
shot down after straying across the border, and another American citizen, Evan
Hunziker, was apprehended after he swam the Yalu River to North Korea from the
Chinese side in 1996.
Both spent several months in the North before New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson,
then a U.S. congressman, visited Pyongyang to successfully negotiate their
release.
U.S. officials hope the trial signals their early release, just as with American
journalist Roxana Saberi, who was set free by Iran weeks ago on a suspended
prison term after getting an eight-year sentence for espionage.
Scott Snyder, director of the Center for U.S.-Korea Policy at the Asia
Foundation, however, said that it may not be the case this time.
"I'm a little bit concerned, given the internal focus on political succession,
that the North Korean -- that the North Koreans may not be conducting business as
usual, in which case it would be very unfortunate, but it's possible that the
journalists could be held there for a longer period of time," Snyder told a
forum.
Allegations are that North Korea's ailing leader, Kim Jong-il, has been engaged
in a series of provocations since the inauguration of Obama in January in an
apparent move to ensure a smooth power transition to his third and youngest son,
Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-il is said to have sent out notifications of Jong-un's succession soon
after the second nuclear test late last month, apparently due to his weakening
health after a reported stroke he suffered last summer.
North Korea may be aiming to use the detained journalists as a bargaining chip
for resumption of bilateral talks on its nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
Appearing on a television program last week, Richardson said, "Obviously, they
see the two women as possible bargaining chips. Now, what the North Koreans want
more than anything is they want to deal directly with us. They don't want the
other countries involved."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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