The trial of American criminals for conduct of anti-North Korea hostilities
Korean Central News Agency

Recently, two American journalists committed hostile acts against North Korea and illegal invasion of our territory and are to be tried after arrest.

According to the Constitution of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Article 158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 271, in order to prevent the disclosure of state secrets there is a non-public approach to the trial.

Today, the Korean peninsula is in an unprecedented confrontation with the U.S. and so the Korean Central News Agency was authorized to make detailed reports to American news of the crime:

This year on the early morning of March 17, two unidentified men and two women crossed onto Duman (Tumen) River, North Hamgyong onto the riverbank on the other side (our side); and conducted suspicious actions.

Members of our border guards on patrol at the time questioned them; two men fled, two women were arrested in situ.

Identified by the trial of their identity, one Laura Ling, 32 years old, U.S. citizen of Chinese nationality, the United States “Current TV” Broadcasting Corporation correspondent; another person named Lee Cheng-En, 36 years old, South Korea, an American citizen who is an editor of the same broadcasting company.

Interrogation results identified that they carried out an invasive border crime with the aim of making a multi-media information campaign which is anti-North Korea human rights.

The Central Public Prosecutors Office of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea issued the arrest warrant on March 22 of Lee and Ling, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in accordance with Article 69 of the Penal Code section 233, the detained women are to be held criminally responsible.

According to the pre-trial judge, in January this year, Laura Ling and Lee Cheng-En were in the City of Los Angeles in the United States engaged in editorial oversight procedures with “Current TV” company’s Mitch Koss as well as David Newman and head of Corporate Law David Harleston; together they plotted to produce a documentary defaming the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

They also used a group of crazy people in South Korea who are anti-Communist known as “Durihana Mission”, led by the minister Chun Ki-won, he introduced a guide and arranged for interviews in the South with those who object.

On March 6, they received 9950 U.S. dollars provided by the company. On March 9 they left the United States. Their entry visa applications for China used false facts and wrote: The purpose of travel is as an ordinary tourist, occupation is the “Current Holding” computer experts.

Laura Ling, Lee Cheng-En, and Mitch Koss went to South Korea and on March 11 visited the unarmed military demarcation line district, followed by interviews with defectors, and induced them to tell the people defamation of our system and the telling of lies.

On March 13 they arrived at Yanji City, Jilin Province in China, and followed the guide introduced by Chun Ki-won to interview border violators, collecting reports from the criminals who made nonsense and all kinds of abusive remarks.

From pre-trial confession and the content of the above it shows that their behavior is an out-and-out attempt to belittle the image of our Republic and of libel and slander; the very impure politically motivated act of starting hostilities.

This is against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea section 69 of the Criminal Law (the crime of the Korean nation hostile) behavior.

At 6 o’clock on March 17, led by the guide introduced by Chun Ki-won along the way (Kim Sung-chul) , Laura Ling and Lee Cheng-En and Mitch Koss set out from Tumen City in China to sneak across the frozen Tumen River onto our riverbank and used a video camera to film surrounding features, and recorded the narration of “we have not been allowed to enter the territory of North Korea,” and even picked up a small stone as a memento.

This is against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Penal Code section 233 (illegal immigration crimes) and is a serious criminal invasion of our territory.

The Democratic People’s Republic of the Central Public Prosecutors Office through the pre-trial statements and evidence – a video recorder, six videotapes, a digital camera, one stone, 17 photos, 2 multimedia information notebook. This evidence confirms the picture of criminal acts. On May 11 was their indictment of the Central Court.

June 1, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Central Court based on survey data, and in recognition of the contents of the prosecution evidence; the law is correct and it is also made to determine the Democratic People’s Republic in accordance with article 292 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and a Article 295 of the Criminal Code and to Article 69 and 233 the defendants were then prosecuted based on trial.

From June 4-8 in Pyongyang City, the Central Court conducted a trial of the accused. According to the defendant’s request, Laura Ling selected an interpreter to translate the proceedings in the trial lawyers debate. Lee Cheng-En selected to give up the right to counsel, so the debate did not provide one for her.

The defendants admitted in court: their libel and slander action in making an attempt to distort the facts of of our human rights situation in the Republic using multimedia data, to isolate and stifle the socialist system in our country stemming from political motives for the crime.

Central Court on behalf of the Democratic People’s Republic of determining the defendant Laura Ling and Lee Cheng-En sentenced in accordance with Article 69 of the Penal Code, reform through labor for 10 years, and according to article 233 of the Penal Code reform through labor 4 years and article 44 under the criminal law reform through labor for 12 years.

Custody of the accused begins from the March 22, 2009 from the date of sentence, and it was announced that the verdict can not be appealed.

Offenders recognized and accepted the verdict.

We are closely monitoring the United States and remain vigilant against the criminal acts of anti-North Korea actions.

June 16, 2009 Pyongyang

1. The North Korean post-trial report listed a digital camera as part of the confiscated evidence. This is from the Chinese version: (数码相机一台)

2. Michael Saldate, Euna’s husband, revealed in a TV interview that he had to borrow a friend’s camera to take pictures of daughter Hana because his wife took their only camera with her on assignment.

And poor Joel Hyatt–the only Current exec to show up at the vigils and he’s lambasted. I doubt that he signed off on this or any other story. Neumann et al. are doing a good job of keeping their names out of the papers.

Too late for that. The PRC is going to crucify those on the tapes should the DPRK share the evidence. If any of the faces on the film are locatable in North Korea, they are doomed.

So… though the Democratic Party insider who provides the most interesting revelations is unnamed, he could actually be a reputable source.

If you want to hear recent intelligent analysis from across the pond, then allow me to redirect your attention to more legitimate London sources:

BBC Seoul correspondent Jason Strother (4:45 audio file):
http://www.theworld.org/2009/08/06/criticism-for-journalists-freed-by-north-korea/

TimesOnline Far East Correspondent Michael Sheridan
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6788608.ece