No.296 SIM音読用英文

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Clinton Urges 'Clemency' for US Journalists in North Korea
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The Obama administration has tried to keep

the case of the two journalists

separate from broader problems with North Korea,

including its recent nuclear test,

and it is appealing for their release

on humanitarian grounds,

now that their brief closed-door trial has ended.


Americans Euna Lee and Laura Ling,

who were detained

along the North Korea-China border in mid-March,

were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor

for illegally entering the country

and committing an undefined "grave crime"

against the communist state.


Although U.S. officials initially dismissed

the charges against them

as baseless,

the Obama administration has since dropped that language.


At a press conference

with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda,

Secretary Clinton said

the United States is focused on obtaining clemency

for the two journalists -

a matter she said

that should be seen as separate from the nuclear issue.


"We are pursuing every possible approach

that we can consider

in order to persuade the North Koreans

to release them and send these young women home.


We view these

as entirely separate matters.


We think the imprisonment trial and sentencing

of Laura and Euna

should be viewed as a humanitarian matter.


We hope that the North Koreans will grant clemency

and deport them.


There are other concerns

that we and the international community have with North Korea,

but those are separate and apart

from what's happening to the two women."


Clinton declined to elaborate

on her assertion

that every possible channel with the North Koreans

was being used.


But officials here said

this has included a letter to North Korean authorities

from the Secretary,

apparently urging clemency

and explaining the circumstances

of the two reporters' presence

along the border on March 17.


The reporters were detained

by North Korean border guards

as they worked on a story

about North Korean refugees in China

for the California-based media company Current TV.


There have been published suggestions

that former Vice President Al Gore,

a co-founder of Current TV,

or some other senior U.S. political figure

might travel to North Korea

to intercede.


But State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly declined comment on Monday,

citing the sensitivity of the case.


David Gollust, VOA News, the State Department