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An Update on the Ling-Lee Situation

While there isn’t a lot of new news to report, there are a few things worth mentioning.

First of all, after weeks of silence, Laura Ling again contacted her sister Lisa, most recently last night, with a specific message including a confession that she and Lee broke North Korean law:

“I know that our government has been working behind the scenes very hard trying to bring the girls back home,” she said. But she added, “Our countries don’t talk, and perhaps this could be a reason.”

[Lisa Ling] said her sister “was very specific about the message that she was communicating, and she said, ‘Look, we violated North Korean law and we need our government to help us. We are sorry about everything that has happened, but we need diplomacy.’ “

Again, one needs to be cautious when trying to interpret Ling’s admission that the two journalists ventured into North Korean territory. Maybe they did. Or maybe they have been tortured into saying they did, or perhaps, they feel that admitting to this mistake is their best chance for release even if it is not true.  According to the Facebook page dedicated to the release of Ling and Lee, it is a “fact” that the two journalists admitted to breaking DPRK law, so make of that what you will.

Meanwhile, vigils continue throughout the U.S. and overseas with several taking place tomorrow:

In San Francisco, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the front steps of San Francisco City Hall, at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodleett Place, email:liberatelaurasf@gmail.com;

In Sacramento (Lisa Ling will be in attendance), 6:30-8 p.m. at the West Steps of the California State Capitol at 10th Street between L and N Streets, email: freelauraandeunainternational@gmail.com;

In Phoenix, 6-8 p.m. at the Changing Hands Bookstore at 6428 S. McClintock Dr.;

In Washington, D.C., 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Dupont Circle fountain, email: LiberateLauraDC@gmail.com;
and

In Paris, France, 6-8 p.m. at Peace Wall Champs de Mars at Place Jacques Rueff 75007.

 
   
   
   
   

17 Responses

  1. The State Department confirmed on June 12th that Ling, Lee and Koss crossed the North Korea-China border into NK. Now perhaps in fleeing, Ling-Lee got back to the Chinese side before they were apprehended.

    But really the only question now is whether they crossed willingly or were tricked by the guide.

  2. Richard and I participated in today’s live online chat with Lisa Ling and we each were able to get one question through the moderator, Sacramento TV reporter Sharon Ito.

    Once again Lisa Ling stated her media mantra that “We don’t know the specifics of what actually happened on that day (March 17); the only people who know are Laura and Euna themselves.” Then she gets the question about who was with Laura and Euna on that day and Lisa mentions the 2 key eyewitnesses without saying the names of Mitch Koss or the local guide Kim Seong-cheol. In reply to another question Lisa further states that it was “a chaotic moment in which everybody fled”

    Now here is the quotation from Congresswoman Jane Harman’s notes of her discussion with Deputy Sec. of State James Steinberg: “The US government has established that the two women did cross the North Korean border with additional crew, and that they were chased and captured by North Korean border guards.”

    Here’s the link: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca36_harman/612_SteinbergMtg.shtml

    I would also like to mention here on One Free Korea that Lisa Ling said that her family “sends faxes to North Korea every day”

    Here is the link to the interview co-starring Richard as “LiberateLaura” and yours truly as “Itonotomo”

    http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?aid=77998

  3. Thank you for those links. This was the first time I heard an admission directly attributed to one of the women (except from DPRK outlets).

  4. Ling confessing while in detention that she broke North Korean law is meaningless. The State Dept. claiming that the group crossed into North Korea is significant.

  6. This is the first time that Mrs Clinton has appealed for amnesty for Ms Ling and Ms Lee.

    She said the two reporters had expressed “great remorse for the incident”, adding that “everyone is very sorry that it happened”.

    Mrs. Clinton’s comments also coincide with a signal from North Korea that it would release the two journalists if the US made a formal apology.

    Dr. Han Park, a Korea-born professor at an American university, made the suggestion after a trip to Pyongyang.

    He also said North Korea had delayed sending the two journalists to a prison labour camp and was keeping them in a guest house.

    Professor Park has in the past acted as a link between North Korea and Washington, in an unofficial capacity.

    When asked whether Washington had sent Professor Park to Pyongyang, Secretary Clinton said she had no comment to make.

    According to Professor Park, who recently returned from Pyongyang, North Korea wants to hear an admission that the two strayed into their territory, and wants to hear it from US officials, before they release them.

    Separately, Park told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that the issue of the journalists could be resolved if the U.S. government offers an official apology and promises such things won’t happen again.

    He also predicted that Washington and Pyongyang could hold a dialogue soon over the journalists’ release and their return to the U.S., according to Yonhap. No timeframe for a possible meeting was given.

    Links:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8145440.stm

    http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/07/in-shift-us-calls-for-amnesty-for-journalists-in-nk.html

    http://townhall.com/news/world/2009/07/10/report_us_gesture_could_win_reporters_release

  8. I beg to differ. Dr. Han Park has published his thoughts on US diplomacy with North Korea and you can see for yourself if they are not the same as yours. I believe Dr. Park will be a very useful tool for the State Department to obtain release of Laura and Euna, as they have already initiated one of his suggestions with Hillary’s amnesty statement today.

    If you haven’t read his published comments regarding US diplomacy with Pyongyang, here is the link:

    http://hanpark.myweb.uga.edu/ThoughtsComments/articles/10192006.pdf

    Here is a sample of Han Park’s thoughts from the above article written in October 2006:

    MYTH: Kim Jong-il is a madman. In reality, he is a calculating and shrewd politician
    who has survived incredible economic hardships and unprecedented diplomatic and
    political isolation in the world community.

    MYTH: The Kim Jong-il regime will collapse if economic conditions become bad
    enough. A political system does not collapse for economic reasons. It collapses when the
    system experiences an unmanageable degree of crisis over its legitimacy. The North
    Korean regime’s legitimacy is not founded on economic performance but on ideological
    justification.

    MYTH: A unified voice of multiple governments will be effective in forcing Pyongyang
    to give in. First, there is a sharp disagreement among the governments about the
    desirability of the collapse of Kim’s government. China and South Korea vehemently
    oppose the collapse, while the United States and Japan eagerly welcome the demise of
    the “evil” system.

    REALITY: North Korea is characterized by “pathological nationalism.” Kim’s leadership
    has been forged and maintained by nationalist ideology, not by its ability to satisfy
    people’s needs.

    REALITY: North Korean policy is determined by ultra-militarism. Under the banner of
    Military First Politics, Kim Jong-il established a system of government centered on the
    military that commands absolute authority.

    REALITY: The North Korean political culture is undyingly paternalistic. The military
    and its supreme commander, Kim Jong-il, are considered the protector and provider for
    its people, who passively accept their proper position as dutiful “children.”

    Given the above, it is clear that sanctions, resolutions and condemnations will continue to
    be ineffective. It is also clear that the U.S. effort to muster a unified voice against
    Pyongyang will continue to be futile.

    Unless the administration has the political resolve to engage in another unjustified war, it
    must negotiate with North Korea. Washington should not continue to attempt to
    outsource its foreign policy to China, especially when the stakes are as high as they are in
    this nuclear crisis.

  9. Joshua and Dr. Park agree on North Korea to the extent that this ex-Mossad chief and this ex-Palestinian minister agree on hummus.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkBGS_M1HVQ

    Dr. Park is all for playing nice and capitulation at every turn. He has been an ardent critic of GWBush’s hardline stance on Jong Il Kim, especially of Bush’s “ideological rigidity,” “Messianic complex,” and “simplistic view of the world in terms of good vs evil.” It seems to me that Park is actually the one suffering from missionary complex, choosing to take a patronizing view of Jong Il Kim and presume that the North Korean leader lacks beliefs or plans of his own and merely reacts to kind gesture.

  10. “Unless the administration has the political resolve to engage in another unjustified war, it
    must negotiate with North Korea.”

    Here’s the money shot for Mr. Park. Nothing but negotiation works with North Korea, according to him. And we’ve all seen countless examples of how negotiation does not work with North Korea. As far as I’m aware, the only thing that has noticably hurt KJI were Bush’s financial sanctions. Hopefully Obama will use these again, as long as he and South Korea are ready for the consequences of what financial sanctions could bring about.

  11. In a way, I don’t understand why Obama hasn’t apolized for this, he has apolized to just about every tyrant for everything else. I don’t think we should apolize, just keep demanding their release, no negotizations. Unless refugees that have talked to them have been arested, jailed, and/or killed, they don’t have anything to be sorry about.

  12. I believe Obama has more to gain politically from Laura and Euna coming home than he does by defiantly doing nothing for the sake of “no negotiations”. This is still not a matter between two heads of state, so the token apology is forthcoming from Hillary anyway. Pyongyang does not want to deal with Laura’s ulcer any longer as they have another VIP patient requiring more urgent care.

  13. I don’t see how Obama would gain by apologizing and securing their release. In fact, I think he would be criticized for caving in. Ling and Euna Lee are not on the radar of the American people, and they’re not a significant concern of Congress, either. The party out of power is throwing lots of stones to tarnish Obama’s armor, but this isn’t one of them.

    You’re not a closet Republican trying to plant bad advice, are you?

  14. By Dr. Park’s analysis (and he is not alone), the DPRK is managed as a huge religious cult, which has been my take all along. Any strategy that does not lay the ax to the root (Juche) is bound to perpetuate the misery. That is why the defectors who have converted to Christianity who are sending millions of leaflets over the MDL have a better chance of bringing the regime down than all the so-called [secular] experts.

    The cult will fail. It is founded on lies. The missionaries will prevail.

  15. Obama has nothing to lose, because history will show a video of Hillary apologizing on camera while Obama gets the ultimate credit in the books. Obama is a wise man; he knows in the end it’s all just lip service to get the girls home. Unfortunately for Hillary that task of apologizing to North Korea is placed on her mouth as she must say something like “Read my lips…we’re remorseful about the illegal entry and it won’t happen again.” Brilliant!

    (I am Spelunker and I approve of this message.)

  17. Hillary said everybody’s sorry that it happened. That’s not much of an apology, and it doesn’t seem to have impressed the North Koreans. But I don’t think she should apologize, because the US government didn’t have anything to do with the intrusion and “crimes”. And of course it’s impossible for her to guarantee that such an incident won’t happen again, because she has no control over Americans outside the country. The two “criminals”, their families, and their associates at Current TV can apologize, but I don’t think anyone else should.