Sep 02 2009
Euna and Laura give their side of the story
Some details are starting to emerge about how Euna Lee and Laura Ling crossed the border. According to Bloomberg:
Sept. 2 (Bloomberg) — Two U.S. journalists detained in North Korea and released after a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton said soldiers from the communist nation “violently dragged” them back across the border from China.
[...]
“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,” Ling and Lee said. “They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea.”
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“In the days before our capture, our guide had seemed cautious and responsible,” the reporters said in their statement. “To this day, we still don’t know if we were lured into a trap.
“But it was ultimately our decision to follow him, and we continue to pay for that decision today with dark memories of our captivity.”
I do not know what happened to the guide, and I do not know if the guide will give his side of the story. I had no idea that North Korean guards can run across the border. Now more questions are raised than answered regarding the guide, but until his side of the story is told, we may never know.
Whatever the case may be, it was still not a very good idea to go across the border, but hindsight is always 20/20. It is always a very risky place to hang out, and I always assumed it was because of the Chinese police walking around. I am also going to guess if you try to cross the border, I guess the guards can nab you too. One thing I do not understand; in most documentaries and books I have read, if guards are bribed, they can look the other way. I guess not all work that way, and trying to cross is a very risky business. However, I have never heard of North Korean guards leaving the country to nab somebody. I always assumed guard or not, were not supposed to leave the country.
Maybe they have special permission. I highly doubt it. I also do not know if North Korea has some deal for joint border nabbing duties.
Perhaps somebody can tell me.
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One response so far
In North Korea unfavorable publicity is an embarassment to the nation. Journalists are not allowed because they publish unfavorable stories about the DPRK. It is considered criminal activity. While in the DPRK we are instructed that we cannot take photographs that show the DPRK in an unfavorable way. After the guides/guards begin to trust you then you can pretty much shoot what you want.
So two naive “journalists,” and I suppose in cyberspace anyone with a camera and a blog is a “journalist,” seek out stories on refugees from the DPRK. Freedom loving peoples fleeing the evil dictatorship sounds good but perhaps a story on those exploiting women for the sex trade would have been more appropriate. (I see it was mentioned.) Current TV is not really what I would call a first rate news organization and while it sounds cool to sneak into a totalitarian state you had better really understand the risks.
“When we set out, we had no intention of leaving China…” Yeah right. I know what the value of video inside the Hermit Kingdom is worth. How interesting is your documentary if you didn’t have some secret footage inside?
This case is also an embarassment to China. We are all glad that Laura Ling and Euna Lee are back but unmarked borders are not places for stunts. There is another side of this of course, the rights to the story are considerably higher if you are detained.