Their biggest mistake was hiring a local guide in Yanji to take them to Tumen. They should have went to Tumen without telling their local guide, then meet him for breakfast after checking out of their hotel.

The "smart" way to infiltrate North Korea, if you are intelligent, is to do it yourself without a local guide.

First of all, I would like to know where, in any of my previous comments, I equated the two journalists with global jihadists.

It is so obvious, you seem to be the only person unable to see it. And then you go right ahead and do it again in the very next paragraphs in the same breath.

And it is your inability to see that that corrupts your whole point of view, and makes your last paragraph useless nonsense.

(And this has to be the ultimate sign that the person your dealing with is talking within his own head: "own tribe can never be wrong" – I'll eat a ton of whale poo if I've ever come close to thinking much less saying that….)

Your whole point of view revolves around equating the two reporters with the people detained by the US in the war on terror. Lumping all their actions together by calling them simply detainees by government X – and then equating all justice to rules of law established in American criminal and constitutional law to govern American and other citizens within the United States.

It's a simplistic view of how the world works and has worked.

When the United States starts taking Mexicans crossing the river into Texas and putting them in Gitmo and holding them for 5 or 6 years putting them through the laborious tribunal system, drop me an email….

And as Sonagi rightly points out, (but whose advice I guess I'm stubbornly not taking), if you want to wade neck-deep into a debate about the nature of Gitmo – there are PLENTY of places for you to do so in cyber world.

You don't have to hijack threads that end up making you basically an apologist for Pyongyang.

I'm sure in your heart and head you don't want to make excuses for Pyongyang or legitimize its court system or its holding of these two reporters, but that is exactly what you're doing thanks to your "I hate Bush" blinders…

I've changed my mind, you are brilliant and your defense should be used in all court cases world wide starting immediately.

…

Judge: Mr. X you are charged with murder, how do you plead.

Accused: Your honor, George Bush is a war criminal he killed MILLIONS.

Judge: Wow, you are right, I am so sorry please feel free to torment your victim's family you are free to go, next!

…

This misdirection and moral equivalency thing is great, I'll have to try it at my next traffic violation. "Officer, I may have been speeding but 2MB killed President Noh…" It doesn't even need to be true.

Remember, fellow commenters, that even the most persistent thread-derailer tires of arguing with himself.

I am amazed by your stunning leap of logic. The article is about NK treatment of two reporters(misled or not). I will say that the North Korean State is an "Evil" one by most international standards. (Exceptions being NK, Iran, Cuba and several others that you are so willing to morally equivalate with the US)

Let me walk you through this since you are a little slow. Reporter X shows up in the US without a visa and credentials to report on the poor repressed people of Y district. Michael M., Noam C, Sean P. and dozens of supporters blast the US once it deports said individual back to his home of origin, or under pressure the US issues the visa so said reporter can blast the US.

Reporter Y shows up on the China border and steps one foot into NK. IF he isn't shot in the back fleeting, he will either "disappear" or be given a show trial and 12 years of hard labor.

In your world the two events are equal and that either makes you incredibly stupid, intellectually dishonest or I suspect both.