9/2/2009 Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom …

latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-oe-lingleeweb2-2009sep02,0,6204216.story

latimes.com
Opinion

Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists released last
month after being imprisoned in orth Korea, tell their story -- and
remind people of the story they wanted to cover.
By Laura Ling and Euna Lee

6:28 PM PDT, September 1, 2009

We arrived at the frozen river separating

China and North Korea at 5 o'clock on the
morning of March 17. The air was crisp and
still, and there was no one else in sight. As the
sun appeared over the horizon, our guide
stepped onto the ice. We followed him.

We had traveled to the area to document a

grim story of human trafficking for Current
TV. During the previous week, we had met
and interviewed several North Korean
defectors -- women who had fled poverty and
repression in their homeland, only to find
themselves living in a bleak limbo in China. Some had, out of desperation, found work in the
online sex industry; others had been forced into arranged marriages.

Now our guide, a Korean Chinese man who often worked for foreign journalists, had brought
us to the Tumen River to document a well-used trafficking route and chronicle how the
smuggling operations worked.

There were no signs marking the international border, no fences, no barbed wire. But we knew
our guide was taking us closer to the North Korean side of the river. As he walked, he began
making deep, low hooting sounds, which we assumed was his way of making contact with
North Korean border guards he knew. The previous night, he had called his associates in North
Korea on a black cellphone he kept for that purpose, trying to arrange an interview for us. He
latimes.com/…/la-oe-lingleeweb2… 1/5
9/2/2009 Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom …
was unsuccessful, but he could, he assured us, show us the no-man's land along the river, where
smugglers pay off guards to move human traffic from one country to another.

When we set out, we had no intention of leaving China, but when our guide beckoned for us to
follow him beyond the middle of the river, we did, eventually arriving at the riverbank on the
North Korean side. He pointed out a small village in the distance where he told us that North
Koreans waited in safe houses to be smuggled into China via a well-established network that
has escorted tens of thousands across the porous border.

Feeling nervous about where we were, we quickly turned back toward China. Midway across
the ice, we heard yelling. We looked back and saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles
running toward us. Instinctively, we ran.

We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us. Producer Mitch Koss and
our guide were both able to outrun the border guards. We were not. We tried with all our might
to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match
for the determined soldiers. They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and
marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained.

Over the next 140 days, we were moved to Pyongyang, isolated from one another, repeatedly
interrogated and eventually put on trial and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.

During our time in captivity, and in the weeks since we returned, there has been speculation
about what we were doing in that part of the world and about what happened on the morning of
the 17th. After arriving home, we were disoriented, overwhelmed and not ready to talk about
the experience. There are things that are still too painful to revisit, but we do want to explain
what took us to northeastern China and the circumstances of our arrest.

Our motivations for covering this story were many. First and foremost, we believe that
journalists have a responsibility to shine light in dark places, to give voice to those who are too
often silenced and ignored. One of us, Euna, is a devout Christian whose faith infused her
interest in the story. The other, Laura, has reported on the exploitation of women around the
world for years. We wanted to raise awareness about the harsh reality facing these North
Korean defectors who, because of their illegal status in China, live in terror of being sent back to
their homeland.

In researching the story, we sought help from several activists and missionaries who operate in
the region. Our main contact was the Seoul-based Rev. Chun Ki-won, a well-known figure in
the world of North Korean defectors. Chun and his network have helped smuggle hundreds of
North Koreans out of China and into countries -- including the U.S. -- where they can start new
lives. He introduced us to our guide and gave us a cellphone to use in China, telephone numbers
to reach his associates and specific instructions on how to contact them. We carefully followed
his directions so as to not endanger anyone in this underground world.
latimes.com/…/la-oe-lingleeweb2… 2/5
9/2/2009 Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom …

Because these defectors live in fear of being repatriated to North Korea, we took extreme
caution to ensure that the people we interviewed and their locations were not identifiable. We
met with defectors away from their actual places of work or residence. We avoided filming the
faces of defectors so as not to reveal their identities. The exception was one woman who
allowed us to film her profile.

Most of the North Koreans we spoke with said they were fleeing poverty and food shortages.
One girl in her early 20s said she had been told she could find work in the computer industry in
China. After being smuggled across the Tumen River, she found herself working with computers,
but not in the way she had expected. She became one of a growing number of North Korean
women who are being used as Internet sex workers, undressing for online clients on streaming
video. Some defectors appeared more nervous about being interviewed than others. But they all
agreed that their lives in China, while stark, were better than what they had left behind in North
Korea.

We also visited a foster home run by a pastor who worked for Chun. The home housed six
children born to North Korean women who were forced into marriage in China. The mothers
had either been repatriated to North Korea or had abandoned their families. Because the
children have Chinese fathers, it is unlikely they will be deported to North Korea. The foster
home provides them with decent conditions, an education and hope for a better life.

In the days before our capture, our guide had seemed cautious and responsible; he was as
concerned as we were about protecting our interview subjects and not taking unnecessary risks.
That is in part why we made the decision to follow him across the river.

We didn't spend more than a minute on North Korean soil before turning back, but it is a minute
we deeply regret. To this day, we still don't know if we were lured into a trap. In retrospect, the
guide behaved oddly, changing our starting point on the river at the last moment and donning a
Chinese police overcoat for the crossing, measures we assumed were security precautions. But
it was ultimately our decision to follow him, and we continue to pay for that decision today with
dark memories of our captivity.

After we were detained, the two of us made every effort to limit the repercussions of our arrest.
In the early days of our confinement, before we were taken to Pyongyang, we were left for a
very brief time with our belongings. With guards right outside the room, we furtively destroyed
evidence in our possession by swallowing notes and damaging videotapes. During rigorous, daily
interrogation sessions, we took care to protect our sources and interview subjects. We were
also extremely careful not to reveal the names of our Chinese and Korean contacts, including
Chun. People had put their lives at risk by sharing their stories, and we were determined to do
everything in our power to safeguard them.

Our families and colleagues back home maintained total silence about our work for two full
latimes.com/…/la-oe-lingleeweb2… 3/5
9/2/2009 Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom …
months, both to minimize the potential impact on sensitive underground work in China and to
protect us. We were surprised to learn that Chun spoke with reporters publicly in the immediate
aftermath of our arrest. Among other things, Chun claimed that he had warned us not to go to
the river. In fact, he was well aware of our plans because he had been communicating with us
throughout our time in China, and he never suggested we shouldn't go. Chun's public statements
prompted members of our families to speak directly with him in Korean, pleading with him to
refrain from any further comment that might jeopardize our situation and those of relief
organizations working along the border.

After spending nearly five months in captivity, we were relieved to be granted amnesty by the
North Korean government. We continue to cope with tremendous mental and emotional
anguish, but we feel incredibly fortunate to be free and reunited with our families. We are forever
indebted to the United States government, particularly the State Department, to President
Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to former Vice President Al Gore and
our colleagues at Current TV, to Swedish Ambassador Mats Foyer, and to former President
Clinton and his team for taking on this private humanitarian mission.

We can't adequately express the emotions surrounding our release. One moment, we were
preparing to be sent to a labor camp, fearing that we would disappear and never be heard from
again; the next we were escorted into a room with President Clinton, who greeted us and told us
we were going home. We are grateful to the many journalists who kept our story alive. We are
humbled by the tens of thousands of people who supported us, prayed for us and fought for our
release.

At the same time, though, we do not want our story to overshadow the critical plight of these
desperate defectors.

Since our release, we have become aware that the situation along the China-North Korea
border has become even more challenging for aid groups and that many defectors are going
deeper underground. We regret if any of our actions, including the high-profile nature of our
confinement, has led to increased scrutiny of activists and North Koreans living along the
border. The activists' work is inspiring, courageous and crucial.

Many people have asked about our strength to endure such hardships and uncertainty. But our
experiences pale when compared with the hardship facing so many people living in North Korea
or as illegal immigrants in China.

The outcome of our three-day trial was never in doubt. In the end, we were convicted and
sentenced to two years for trespassing and 10 years for "hostile acts." What did we do that was
hostile? We tried to tell the story of repression and desperation in North Korea. It's not
surprising, given the North Korean government's desire to silence any form of dissent, that the
more extreme portion of the sentence was issued not for trespassing but for our work as
journalists. Totalitarian regimes the world over are terrified of exposure.
latimes.com/…/la-oe-lingleeweb2… 4/5
9/2/2009 Hostages of the Hermit Kingdom …

We know that people would like to hear more about our experience in captivity. But what we
have shared here is all we are prepared to talk about -- the psychological wounds of
imprisonment are slow to heal. Instead, we would rather redirect this interest to the story we
went to report on, a story about despairing North Korean defectors who flee to China only to
find themselves living a different kind of horror. We hope that now, more than ever, the plight of
these people and of the aid groups helping them are not forgotten.

Laura Ling is a correspondent for Current TV and vice president of its Vanguard
Journalism unit. Euna Lee is a producer and editor for Current's Vanguard series. To see
more of their work, go to current.com.

Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times

latimes.com/…/la-oe-lingleeweb2… 5/5