U.S. reporters get 12 years

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea’s top court has convicted two U.S. journalists and sentenced them to 12 years in labor prison, the country’s state news agency reported today.

The Central Court tried American TV reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee and confirmed their unspecified “grave crime” against the nation, and their illegal crossing into North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency said.

It said the court – which tried the women from June 4 to 8 – “sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor.” The report gave no other details.

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul said it had no immediate comment.

The circumstances surrounding the trial of the two journalists and their arrest three months ago on the China-North Korea border have been shrouded in secrecy, as is typical of the reclusive nation.

There were fears that the two women would be used by Pyongyang as bargaining chips in its standoff with South Korea and the United States, which are pushing for U.N. sanctions to punish the nation for its latest nuclear blast and barrage of missile tests.

The journalists – working for former Vice President Al Gore’s California-based Current TV – were arrested March 17 as they were reporting about the trafficking of women. It’s unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China.

The women cannot appeal, as they were tried in North Korea’s highest court, where decisions are final.

The sentences are much harsher than what many observers had hoped for. The trial was not open to the public or to foreign observers.