Comments on: North Korean Media Comments On Journalists’ Conviction

By: Belinda

Belinda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:27:12 +0000

Oh of course. I know I'd feel tons better, if I was Euna Lee's husband. (sarcasm face)

AP got a former employee to talk. Not that she said anything.

http://www.scsun-news.com/silver_city-business/ci…

By: Spelunker

Spelunker — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:02:12 +0000

Gawker got an anonymous Current TV employee to talk about why they're silent. The employee said orders to keep quiet in public and online came from Current TV's Legal Department, and they were also told to stay away from the vigils.

That particular Gawker article preceded the vigil Chief Executive Joel Hyatt attended. Evidently Mr. Hyatt can do whatever he wants, after all he is the CEO. Wouldn't you suppose his solemn presence was meant to appease the Ling family? That's my guess.

By: Belinda

Belinda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:25:50 +0000

Joel Hyatt went to the vigil in SF, according to the NYT.

By: Belinda

Belinda — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:09:15 +0000

Not that I doubt Spelunker, but where did you hear that Current employees shouldn't attend the vigils?

By: Spelunker

Spelunker — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:23:51 +0000

ROK Drop valuable links are so useful! I visited Korea scholar "Ask A Korean" for help with translation of the KCNA report's paragraph containg the name of the guide. "The Korean" promptly replied:

On March 17 at 6 o'clock, Mitch Koss, Laura Ling and Seung-Eun Lee, following the guide of Kim Sung-Cheol to whom they were introduced by Chun Ki-Won, crossed the frozen Tumen river from China's Domun-shi, Woljeong-jin. After reaching our shore, they recorded with a narration "We have just entered within North Korean borders without permission" as they filmed the surroundings with a video camera. They even picked up a rock in their pocket as a memento of the trespass.

So why am I reposting this when JoongAn Daily already broke the story? Because now "The Korean" at "Ask a Korean" has breaking news of his own: an interview with the North Korean sentry who caught the American stone collectors!

http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2009/06/ask-korean…

Ask a Korean! News: Joo Seong-Ha on Laura Ling and Euna Lee

Here is something for the followers of Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Joo Seong-Ha of Nambuk Story has spoken to the guard who captured the reporters:

I tried to find out the circumstances of the capture. A border patrol officer

who is stationed in Gang'An-Li simply answered, "We saw the women roaming

around in early morning, so we caught them." I asked him, "Did you get

someone to lure them into crossing the border?" "You weren't waiting for them?",

etc., but he replied, "Not at all." … Also considering that the men

who ran away are keeping quiet, it does seem like it was the reporters' fault.

The Korean would not be surprised if North Korea kidnapped the reporters across the border, but Joo is a reputable journalist with an extremely deep and wide connection within North Korea. Those who doubt him about North Korea do so at their own peril.

By: Word of the Day: Calumny « Extra! Korea

Word of the Day: Calumny « Extra! Korea — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:53:00 +0000

[...] the Day: Calumny Filed under: North Korea, languages — extrakorea @ 1:53 am Thanks to ROK Drop, we now know why North Korea sentenced two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, to twelve [...]

By: Spelunker

Spelunker — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:41:09 +0000

Al Gore is scheduled to give the keynote speech at a climate themed conference in Melbourne (Australia) on July 13. Spelunker has already briefed Australian reporters who plan to attend the conference on what to ask the Current TV chairman with regard to Euna and Laura if they have not been released by that date.

By: gerry

gerry — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:09:00 +0000

Anyone seen Al Gore lately? They worked for him.

By: Spelunker

Spelunker — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:39:41 +0000

UPDATE! BREAKING NEWS!

Kudos to Joon Gang Daily for finally getting Pastor Chun Ki-won to tell us who that guide is!

"Reporters’ guide arrested in China" (Kim Seong-cheol)

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?a…

Maybe Pastor Chun finally got tired of seeing Spelunker post on his website's bulletin board:

http://www.durihana.net/board/list.aspx?tbname=bb…

By: GI Korea

GI Korea — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:51:18 +0000

From what I see doing a Google search of Kim Sung-chul is that a person of the same name was imprisoned by the North Koreans because he was a NK soldier that provided video footage of a execution to Japanese TV:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.d09cf…

There is a few other Kim Sung-chul's that come up but none of them I could find worked at NK guides in China.