Euna Lee and Laura Ling are Pardoned and Released
Subscribe![Euna Lee (l) and Laura Ling (r) [AP].](http://www.kacla.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/euna-lee-and-laura-ling.jpg)
The Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles would like to express its happiness on the occasion of the pardon and release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, two American journalists who had been held in North Korea until today. We hope for a safe and speedy return to their families and a resumption of their normal lives after this nearly five-month ordeal.
KAC would also like to congratulate former President Bill Clinton and his entire negotiation team on the successful release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling, as well as praise the Obama Administration’s continuous work since their capture to gain their pardon and release.
“KAC hopes that this is the first step towards normalizing relations between the U.S. and the DPRK,” says Grace Yoo, Executive Director of KAC. “We are cautiously hopeful that the release of the two journalists will lead to a cooling of recent rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, and will provide the foundation for more reasonable relations between the two countries.”
The first American official to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il since 2000, President Clinton was able to negotiate the release of the CurrenTV journalists within 24 hours of landing in Pyongyang. Captured on March 17 near the China-North Korea border, the two were sentenced on June 8 to twelve years in a North Korean prison camp for “committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry.”
KAC has been closely monitoring the situation since the two journalists were captured nearly five months ago. Including close contact with Representative Jane Harman, who was also monitoring the situation, KAC deep interest in the capture and eventual release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling aligns with our THINK (Topple Hunger in North Korea) program, designed to raise awareness of continuing food shortages in the country as well as distribute general knowledge.
Read the KAC Press Release.
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