[International
Herald Tribune, France]
The Daily North
Korea, South Korea
American Reporters
Likely to Be Treated 'Relatively' Well
"The
two have a good chance of being sent to one of two 'special' reeducation camps.
The People’s Safety Agency operates these two camps for the detention of Workers’
Party officials, senior cadres and important figures who must be well-treated. These
camps are better-equipped than those for other prisoners and serve relatively
better food."
By Moon Sung-hwee
June 8, 2009
South Korea - Daily North Korea - Original
Article (English)
The Chosun [Korea] Central
News Agency (KCNA) reported on Monday that the two American journalists held by
the authorities since March 17 have been sentenced to 12 years in a labor
reeducation camp.
The KCNA announced, "The
Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea Central Court put American journalists
Laura Ling and Lee Seung-eun (Euna Lee) on trial from the June 4th to June 8th.
The two were convicted of crimes against the state and illegal border crossing,
and the Central Court sentenced them both to twelve years of reform through
labor."
Labor camp prisons are not run
by the National Security Agency, but the People’s Safety Agency. In these labor
camps, the People’s Safety Agency detains prisoners who aren't classified as
political prisoners. Relatives of these prisoners can visit the reeducation
camps and are permitted to bring food for them and when their terms expire, they
are generally released.
The two have a good chance of
being sent to one of two "special" reeducation camps. The People’s
Safety Agency operates these two camps for the detention of Workers’ Party officials,
senior cadres and important figures who must be well-treated. These camps are
better-equipped than those for other prisoners and serve relatively better food.
American
journalists Laura Ling, right, and Euna Lee: The reporters
who
work for Current TV are now in North Korean hands and have
been
sentenced to twelve years of 'labor-reeducation.'
The special camps are
reportedly located in Pyongsung, South Pyongan Province and Wonsan, Kangwon
Province. Prisoners there are engaged in relatively light labor. When
international human rights organizations request visits to North Korean prisons,
they are shown these camps.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The possibility of them going
to the camp in Pyongsung is higher, because it's closer to Pyongyang and wouldn't
require showing the Americans too much North Korean scenery.
North Korea seems determined
to pacify international pressure in regard to human rights abuses in its
detention facilities by imprisoning the two in one of these "special"
camps. The reason North Korea sentenced them to the maximum penalty allowable was
to grab the upper hand and pressure the United States in the lead-up to direct
North Korea-U.S. talks.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Daily North Korea, South Korea:
Top Korean Defector: 'Neglecting' Kim Jong-il is Best Approach
Korea Central News, North Korea:
America 'Wholly to Blame' for Nuclear Threat to World
Korea Central News, North Korea:
South Korea 'Declares War'
Daily North Korea, South Korea:
Why Did North Korea Hold a Nuclear Test Now?
Daily North Korea, South Korea:
Regime Change is Only Solution for North Korea
The Asia Times, Hong Kong:
Beijing Weighs its Options
The Hanyoreh, South Korea:
Paricipation in U.S.-Led Maritime
WMD Control a Mistake for Seoul
JoongAng Ilbo, South Korea:
South Must Delay Transfer of Wartime
Control from U.S. to South
Yonhap News Agency, South Korea:
Obama's 'Tough Challenge'
from Stubborn Kim Jong-il
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US June 8, 7:19pm]
