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| China-Japan-Koreas | ||
| Norks Block U.S. on Journalists | ||
| 2009-05-15 | ||
| SEOUL -- North Korea's detention and imprisonment of three foreigners is adding to a pattern of increasingly belligerent behavior since dictator Kim Jong Il's recovery from a stroke-like illness last October, observers say. Since then, North Korea has launched a missile, pulled out of six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks, kicked out international weapons inspectors and said it may again test a nuclear weapon, something it first did in 2006. North Korea's treatment of the three detainees violates international human-rights practices, but news coverage of their situation has been overshadowed by the diplomatic fallout from Pyongyang's April 5 missile launch. Under international criminal law, defendants have the right to access diplomatic officers of their own state. But American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, detained for nearly two months, haven't been allowed contact with Western officials since March 30.
Mats Foyer, the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang, met with Ms. Lee and Ms. Ling separately on March 30. He declined to comment on the situation late last week, and referred questions to the State Department. An official there said Mr. Foyer has "repeatedly requested additional visits," but none have been allowed. U.S. officials have said less about Ms. Lee and Ms. Ling than they have about an American reporter, Roxana Saberi, who was recently convicted of espionage in Iran. The strategy is partly a gamble that not provoking the North Koreans may lead to a speedy resolution, analysts say, but it's also a sign of the increased uncertainty in dealing with Pyongyang. U.S. officials have said little about the journalists' situation, but have indicated they aren't making progress with Pyongyang. A person not in government who is familiar with the situation said that North Korea isn't talking to the U.S. at all.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 The North said on April 24 that it would put the two women on trial for "hostile acts," in what would be its first trial of Americans, but it didn't say when. June 4th. Same day Bambi will be |
| Posted by: Zorba 2009-05-15 13:21 |