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| China-Japan-Koreas | |
| Freed American Journalists Return Home | |
| 2009-08-06 | |
| American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have arrived at Burbank Airport in Los Angeles after more than four months in detention in North Korea. The reporters were released in a deal brokered by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who landed with the women in California early Wednesday. There were tears and hugs as the two journalists met with their families inside an airport hangar, following a whirlwind round of private diplomacy by former President Clinton. The two women, who were reporting on North Korean refugees, were arrested in March for allegedly entering North Korea illegally from China and committing what were called hostile acts. In June, a court sentenced them to 12 years at hard labor. Speaking inside an airport hangar in Los Angeles, Ling said the pair feared at any moment they could be sent to a labor camp. Just 30 hours before their tearful reunion, they were summoned to a meeting and, walking through the door, saw former President Clinton. "We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end," Ling said. "And now we stand here home and free."
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| Posted by:Steve White |