Thank You From Laura and Euna

Excuses me! but what did they achieved, what was the purpose of this fucked up!

oh, yes, the complete freeze of all negotiation with Humanitarians organization! food, medecine and others, really, needed help for North Korean people canceled!

Bravo, great move, daughter can be proud!

Wow, people really are capable of forgetting the truth that quickly. You need to go back and you check you time line again kid, North Korea Closed negotiations before all of this started by accusing South Korea of being hostile in January of 2009, Laura and Euna were caught in March.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1132268.stm

If anything there detainment inadvertently restarted the peace process by giving Bill Clinton a chance to talk directly with Kim Jong-il.

Lay off the fox news and conspiracy theories please.

i read what you wrote, and i dont understand what you are trying to say, but it still stands that these girls could walk into every tv station in the world and talk about north korean human rights and they would get air time on every channel. They have a responsibility now, they have the power in their hands, if i were to walk in to a tv station and want to talk about north kkorean human rights, i would be kicked out, but due to the circumstances of their case, they now have the power to make the media listen to them and what do they do with that power?????, absolutely nothing!!, you have the weight of 200000 political prisoners on your shoulders laura ling, you can do the right thing and use your voice to spread awareness or otherwise on behalf of the prisoners in the camps, i hope that you die and are reborn in one of those camps just as many other children are born as slaves in these camps. You have the power now, do something with it!!!!!! because noone listens to me because i havent had the media coverage you have had. !!!!!!!

telling the truth is whining?
seeking the truth is spying?
time to get your head out your ass!

That has nothing to do with this thread.

J_jam
actually it does!

that was looking more a unplanned stunt turned super wrong instead of any real though journalism

What? Are you kidding? That is clearly not "the end of the story". What a self-centered suggestion.

The WSJ story says the poor guide was sentenced to six months in jail in China. So I guess he didn't betray them for a reward.

I'm looking forward to that editorial by Laura and Euna.

As always, I hope they're doing well. This has been a nightmare for them.

Yo tambien. Yo las amo a Laura y Euna.

Well, TumenTourGuide, you beat me to the punch. But I've added the internet address of this story to my group, StPatrickOfTheTumen.

This news report out of South Korea says the Chinese seized video of Korean-Chinese children from Mitch Koss, then closed the orphanages where the kids lived. As they continued their investigation, they acquired the names and plans of human-rights activists. The report also says that Laura, Euna, and Mitch 'filmed' North Korean women at the border. To me, that raises the possiblity that they did have a good, professional reason to go there. The final sentence is: "Koss declined to comment, and it was not possible to contact Euna Lee." So did someone really manage to reach Mitch?

I hope Laura and Euna are enjoying their time with their families. They need and deserve it. But I also hope they'll speak frankly, soon.

Not so fast my friend; just because Lee Chan-woo says Current TV went to the border to film North Korean women doesn't necessarily mean that the border crossing was done at the same place.
They could have gone to Mapai village to film a North Korean woman living there and then stopped by the border at a different point along the Tumen River on their way back to Yanji. (Also they could have stopped somewhere between Tumen and Mapai along the Tumen River on their way to the village.)
Mapai is a village of China located very close to the Tumen River. It is about an hour's drive from Yanji, south of the town of Tumen.

Well I am happy someone is talking since Laura and Euna are not.

Actions, no matter how good, noble and righteous the intention of those actions was, have unintended consequences.

Lisa Ling said before the Sacramento rally. "Right now we need the help of our government. ... At the end of the day Laura and Euna are journalists and they were doing their job. And they made a mistake on March 17, for which they are paying."

Now we know there are innocents paying as well. And still no comment from Current. I understand the silence during the incarceration, but the women are home now and safe. I understand why the women are not talking. (I can only imagine how they must feel if they know about this article)

But it is time for Current and the people who know what actually happened and why to start telling their side of the story. I am wondering why Current is silent. My conclusions are less than charitable. The truth will help me make an informed decision. Isn't this the job of journalism?

The tag at the top says "our alien ways must be strange and confusing." Sadly, Current, this just seems like the same old stuff everyone else does.

Unfair assessment.

Just because you do not get what you want from them does not mean that Current is like everyone else...or, for that matter, acting like everyone else. You just requested the information to make an informed decision and yet at the same time you're stating that you already made up your mind.

If you were so even handed in your request then you'd ask it instead of state that you are forming and opinion it with or without the information.

If the information is important you'd hold off on the opinion.

It seems it is not.

When you go from covering the story to being the story then you are news and deserve to be covered. No amount of subterfuge or obfuscation will help Current more than just telling the truth right now. Either tell it or others will.

Is everyone on this website completely insane?

I created a group StPatrickOfTheTumen for people who want to get the facts on this case. I don't mean that I have the answers. I mean I'm inviting curious people to band together. So far, no one has joined. So the answer to your question is no, not everyone on this website is completely insane.

They were carrying their video interviews of North Korean women in China. The border guards seized those videos. That exposed those women, who don't have a famous sister and don't work for a former vice-president, to the wrath of the North Korean and Chinese governments. Laura, Euna, and Mitch didn't need video of the Tumen River. Taking that needless risk, they endangered not only themselves, but others.

For Glans-

According to some the act of going into China is a needless risk. Just because something seems like a needless risk to you in your time, in your place, and with your hindsight, doesn't mean that when a person is confronted with the real situation that those decisions seem perfectly logical.

It is easy to determine the correct course of actions when one is thousands of miles removed from the situation and months removed from the event. Until you realize that unless you where a part of the entourage that made this excursion; then you can not adequately make judgments about what was appropriate at that time and in that place.

Honestly, know one should be able to determine what they would do in that situation unless they where there or had been previously in a similar situation. If you as a person can say that you know exactly what you would do in that situation then one of two conditions must have been meet.

1. You had to have been there in that situation
or
2. You presume to much about yourself.

Plenty of people believe that they would make what they believe would be the correct decision, that they decide from the side lines well after the fact. In reality however, this is simply not the situation.

If you where there, then forgive me for what I'm about to say, other wise no one really cares what you think because you lack the judgment to realize that you lack the experience to determine the correct course of action.

If, you on the other hand have been a correspondent, then I can only say that I will then take your opinion into consideration.

In summation, short of you having actually been there or in a similar situation; your assumptions about the appropriate course of action are unmitigated and irrelevant. As you would not posses any understanding of the situation.

So either your a correspondent and you have a valid opinion on what they should have done, or you are a judgmental pretentious @$$. While it's true that only you will really know the truth, your next response or lack of response will tell me everything I need to know.

versasrev, thanks for a thoughtful reply. Four people were in that situation:
guide Kim Sung-Chul
cameraman/producer Mitch Koss
journalist Laura Ling
journalist Euna Lee aka Lee Cheng-En
I'm waiting for them to tell what they did and why. I'm waiting to learn the fate of the women in the videos.
Meanwhile, I'm very happy that Laura and Euna are well. (After a few visits to lauraandeuna.com, I loved them -- I petitioned for their release and sent them post cards.)
I haven't heard anything at all about Kim Sung-chul, alive or dead. Did he suffer for helping Laura and Euna, or get a reward for betraying them?
I haven't heard about Mitch Koss, either. Does he still work for Current? Is he hiding his face in shame? Was the border excursion his idea, and did he abandon the two women to their fate? Why don't they even mention him? Why doesn't he speak up?

Ultimately current has been playing this one really close to the hip. That said, we will all find out when we are expected to least likely care. My speculation on the other two would be pretty straight forward though.

Mitch Koss is either right back at work doing what he always did, or moved into some lower position to be wedged out of the company latter, either way we probably won't ever hear about him. We will just move forward and slowly forget. As for Kim Sung-Chul, I would not expect to hear about him ever. Either which way it goes all bets say Mitch was probably well compensated and signed a non-disclosure agreement.

If when Laura and Euna decide to speak they mention the fate of these two people, that will be the only time we hear about them. If they do not, I would expect to not be able to ever figure it out.

We will wait and see what happens though. After that we can make are judgments about current as a corporate entity. So far they have been making it seem as if they tend to care about their viewers and staff, but depending on how this actually plays out it might have all been a gimmick. Hard to tell at this point though. We are all just going to have to reserve our judgments until we hear from Laura and Euna.

That's really why it's best not to speculate at this point either which way. Something happened, and the situation has been resolved. Let's move on from there and determine our next course of action about this when we find out more.

Although it should be noted that if nothing is said within 6 months or so people might get really upset. I would assume a good month up to 3 for some one to be able to talk about it if there was no abuse. If there was any form of abuse though I would not expect to hear anything about it willingly within a year or more.

All said, there are a lot of unknowns, so lets move forward and not forget what happened.

Have you been drinking?

Agree, AlienNationRefugee, I think it's Jammer's Kool-Aid.

Look, I have been to the China/North Korea border. In fact, I crossed it a number of times at 3 different points without any risk of getting caught.
Why was there no risk? Because I'm a professional; and prepared well in advance with tactical planning and reconnaissance. It was not done on a whim. Now you must take my opinion into consideration.

Sometimes you have to take a risk. Do I agree with this statement? Only if the risk is mandatory for the mission. Current TV's crew had already completed interviews with refugees in the city of Yanji. That was the assignment they went to China for. Their purpose of going to China was not to cross the border to North Korea. In fact, on March 17 they were scheduled to go to Dandong in China's Liaoning province.

Versasrev fails to address the fact that those confiscated videotapes likely endangered the lives of North Korean refugees and aid workers in China. It is precisely that circumstance by which the unnecessary risk Current TV's crew took at the border endangered more than themselves. That is what I call "sacrifice", which is obviously a different definition than the one tendered by Versasrev above.

Going into China is not a needless risk. Journalists do it every day without getting arrested. Laura and Mitch did a documentary on Uighers in Xinjiang province without any trouble. Other reporters, such as Tom O'Neill of National Geographic magazine, have done the exact same story in Yanji that Current was doing without inclusion of a border crossing caper.

We've waited 2 weeks for the truth; a story Lisa Ling said Laura wants to tell. I hope it's tomorrow, not next month or next year.

Fair enough. Experience counts for something in my book, and I will concede to you on your points.

That really just begs the question though of whose decision would it be to cross the boarder, in this case?

I suppose speculation is useless at this point until the information becomes available.

Thank you very much Hawk30 from the bottom of my heart! I have somehow not seen this video before.

The question asked at the 6:40 point in the video is inaudible, but here is Lisa Ling's reply:
"Based on the limited knowledge I have, I don't think they used poor judgement. Why not? There's probably more that we don't know about."

She prefaced that statement with her media mantra:
"Laura will confirm that when they left US soil they never intended to cross the border."

How do I interpret this Lisanese language? It simply means that the Current TV crew's intentions changed on the morning of March 17. Therefore it sounds like the border crossing may have been done on a whim.

Laura will tell us when she's ready. Until then the truth remains detained in house arrest. I hope her new home has a nice comfortable writing desk and plenty of paper. She sure has a lot of 'splainin' to do!

Maybe Laura, Euna, and Mitch were adding something really important to our understanding of this issue. We don't know, because the border guards seized their videos. If they hadn't made the excursion to the border, their report would have aired on Vanguard by now, and viewers could judge for themselves.

"evil life"? Ouch. You almost hurt my feelings there. Let's try to stay on topic and not sip from the drama cup. Okay honey?

Why? It seems me lots of people are quite please with their version of the "truth".

What version of the truth? We haven't heard Laura's version yet. How can anybody be pleased with something that does not exist? That sounds like fantasy, not fact.

Speak for yourself, Jammer, as you always do anyway.

And yet you people continue to conjure up reasons.

Pathetic.

Is this interesting? No! Because it's getting tired.
Barelykim and Alien Nation Illegal...".....when Laura Ling and Euna Lee stepped off the 'safety' of China's shoreline of the Tumen River, the border between China and N. Korea, it was NOT! clearly marked, The two women were on N. Korean soil for all of 30 seconds, long enough for N. Korean border guards to grab them as 'spies' because they were documenting Korean refugees as human trafficking by N. Korea and/or China.
There ARE situations where borders between two commnunist countries aren't clearly marked just as there are UNmarked border areas between the U.S. and Canada are there so that nationals or others can simply walk in one or two steps INTO Canada and no one's the wiser. So those from the Middle East can slip into Canada, UNdetected and start up sleeper cells.
Anyone crossing from one unfriendly country to another, through a porous border, like China to N.Korea, where the borders are NOT clearly marked, is NOT going to know what they've done until they're declared to be 'spies'! N. Korea is isolated from the rest of the world and that's how Kim jong-il wants to it to be. If caught, you're an automatic spy. End of.

1. One thing that is very clear about the border between China and North Korea is that China owns its own shoreline of The Tumen River. Only after you step off of that shoreline does the border then become unclear. I seriously doubt stepping off the safety of China's shoreline was part of the assignment that Current TV was in Yanji to cover, especially since the Tumen River border is not even within walking distance of Yanji unless you are a North Korean refugee.

2. All of the North Korean refugees that Laura Ling, Mitch Koss, and Euna Lee documented were located in the city of Yanji, which is about a 45 minute drive from the Tumen River border area.
When the two women were arrested for their 30 second adventure there was no human trafficking going on; the only traffic across the border at that time was 3 American humans and their ethnic Korean guide.

The nature of the cover-up and weak rationalizations is deafening. There was no story on the border. There was no reason for them to be on the border except "to get the shot"--to make it look as if they were being brave and doing something dangerous. Well you know what? It was dangerous and they were not brave. I would sincerely hope that Current TV IS NOT actively encouraging young Americans to engage in such publicity stunts. Next time they MAY NOT be so lucky.

If you have been watching the news recently, you may notice that North Korea does not need to be "provoked" in order to act out. The argument that their capture was "provoking a national incident" is really lame. If there had been a national incident, the responsibility would have been shared by how the US and North Korea collectively responded to Laura and Euna's capture. And that was obviously handled quite aptly. So chill.

What Laura and Euna were doing was being journalists, dammit! Excuse me, but at no point do I ever remember hearing either of them say, "O my God, this shouldn't be happening to us" or, "We didn't do anything wrong" or, "It's not our fault" etc, etc. Laura and Euna took full responsibility and did not complain once!

To me, Laura and Euna showed guts through the whole ordeal, and I welcome them home wholeheartedly.

Looks like you don't need any more "facts"....your mind is already made up.

10/4. Check the msg. from TumenTourGuide and that is not the only source. L and L make no denials.

I am happy they are back though!

Don't forget the 53 year old South Korean housewife (Park Wang Ja) who was shot in the back by North Korean soldiers last year at the Mt. Kumgang resort.

How do I know this? "J Jammer" would say it is none of my business that North Korean soldiers shoot innocent tourists. The North Koreans can shoot at anybody they want; we should not be so nosy as to ask why they would shoot a tourist taking a morning stroll on the beach.

So were Laura and Euna and Mitch lucky not to get shot at? Well, from a "level of risk" assessment I would suggest that there have been other assignments where Laura has ventured into dangerous territory. Thanks to the recent Laura Ling marathon, we saw Laura crouching in the middle of the world's largest marijuana farm in Morocco, a huge plot of land owned by drug lords.

I'll admit, the China/North Korea border can be very tempting. You won't find any marijuana farms, but the agates make nice souvenirs. There is actually a tourist destination near Dandong in China's Liaoning province that touts itself as being one bounding step from North Korea. (Google the term "Yi Bu Kua")
Dandong was supposed to be the Current TV crew's destination on March 17. Perhaps they would have had better luck if they had waited until they got there before trying the border hopping caper.

What is your point?

That a reporter's dealings with a border are just as important as dead tourist?

History; those who do not learn from it are doomed to repeat...
Since the end of the Korean War, only 3 Americans have been arrested for crossing the China/North Korea border: Laura Ling, Euna Lee, and a drunk naked fool named Evan Hunziker.
My point is that crossing the China/North Korea border and getting caught is an infamous distinction for tourists or journalists who act like tourists.
3 Americans decided to cross the border into Iran just a few weeks after journalist Roxana Saberi was released. I wonder how long it will be before another American tries unsuccessfully to cross the China/North Korea border.

When you're wrong....you're dead wrong.

And that avatar should be something that is more dark. Like Darth Vader or something that reflects your humanity more accurately.

agreed,

I think in about three years, we're going to to see that the North Koreans weren't the ones using these ladies as pawns.

irresponsible = yes
good note = yes, for them, at least for now.

Asshole

Careful man, discrediting someone is one thing... but Ron White got it right man... there is no cure for stupid... poke fun, discredit, but do not stoop, that accomplishes nothing.

Why does it matter?

It matters because intelligent people want to know how the decision to cross the border was made. Was it done on a whim? Whose whim; Laura or Mitch? Or was it the local guide's idea? These are smart questions that remain to be anwered.

That doesn't answer why it matters.

That does answer that people are just nosy and that has nothing to do with being smart...it has everything to do with being obnoxious.

The world doesn't need to know. Funny is how interested people are in why and not caring that N. Korea is so terrible that if you step foot in their country they're going to tear your head off.

If that happened in America you'd be up in arms.

But because they were reporters and you demonize them they must have done something wrong.

People do not have the right to know anything in this world. People know what they are told. And sometimes it doesn't even matter what they are told because what they have in their head is what they believe over what they are told.

Jammer,

With your logic, Bush was right to not let you know why he went to war. In fact, EVERY decision made by anyone would stand without explanation or rationalization.

I'm glad you take that position. Now, pay me 5,000 USD.

You don't have the right to know why. Just do it!

A simple no the hell I won't will be sufficient.

Try another avenue to get your weak point across.

I am not nosy and what does not concern me I do not inquire about. Their business was their business no matter what they did...so if they decide to share then they decide to share.

There is NO reason for you to know.

And no one has given a good enough excuse other than because they think they are entitled to it...sounds kind of haughty of most of you.

Think before you post your next response and it better be good enough to even waste your time typing.

I thought so.
why would they even
think of doing that?

Everybody's a critic.

However I am with you on this one. As much as I hate to say it, to most, the welcome home business is old hat by now. Eventually people are going to start to ask questions. There have already been quite a few raised eyebrows.

you raise a good point, where is the camera man? why isn't he in the picture? what happened to the footage? or was he marooned in the Maipai village? nobody knows. quite frankly it might begin to threaten their credibility. Honestly.

That is, at least according to some first responders posts, it may have already. In any case this may well prove to be a defining moment in the short history of currenttv/current.com. What follows might as well determine their future in foreign affairs.

Although, I will say that in-so-far they have most certainly dealt with it very gracefully. No news is good news to me but, eventually the truth comes out. However, even so, bad publicity is still publicity.
Perhaps maybe something good can come of this yet.

....like increased viewership and, as we have seen, more public participation from the grass roots level.

The Tumen River footage was confiscated by North Korea and used as evidence in Laura and Euna's trial, along with 5 other video tapes featuring Current TV's interviews with North Korean refugees. Maybe Mitch let go of the video camera in the struggle to get away from the North Korean border sentries.. Mitch escaped the area near Mapai village, but was briefly detained by Chinese police later before being allowed to return home.

The name Mitch Koss has been missing too much from this story. How does the guy in the story escape. Was he, as the excecutive producer, the driving force behind this ill fated trip? Middle aged guy in the twilite of his career trying to make a big splash, able to talk the young career climbing Laura into undertake this trek into North Korea. Why was Euna there at all? She is a film editor, not a reporter. Plenty of people to hire that can speak Korean. There are many possible scenarios, but until people get the courage to come forth and tell the truth, and not THEIR truth to make themselves look good, but the "warts and all truth" I have no choice but to believe that Koss talked them into this, bugged out at the first sign of trouble, and left the girls to their fate. He couldn't have saved them, but he could have suffered with them. Come on Current, come clean.

I will state that I was wondering if he was at the airport to welcome them home since he was mentioned as being part of this story.

Agreed. We're happy they're home... however, what prompted them to be on/across the river? It's hard to miss the border ESPECIALLY knowing what lies on the other side.

It's a lose lose situation. If these two women say they knew it was the border - they admit they acted illegally. On the other hand, if these two women say they didn't know what they were doing - they admit stupidity... and really, don't we have enough stupid reporters?

I doubt these women didn't know where they were. No one's that stupid.

What does it matter that they crossed the border anyway? It shouldn't.

N. Korea is stupid. The law is retarded and whether or not someone knew....it matters not. The law is wrong in this situation.

Mitch escaped at the last minute. Details are sketchy without his or Laura's deposition. He may not have been the driving force behind the decision to cross the border. Let's not pin the blame on this voiceless voodoo doll yet. Wait for Laura's editorial or her next video here on Current or her reply to this forum message.
Euna was in Yanji to facilitate interviews with North Korean refugees as a female interpreter. Laura and Euna traveled to South Korea first before China and that is where Euna's parents still live.
Mitch Koss was not at Burbank airport to welcome his colleagues back on US soil after leaving them on North Korean soil. The private welcome party inside the hangar was strictly a family affair anyway.
The border is not as clear as a line down the center of the Tumen River. In some places close to China's shore there are sandbars claimed by North Korea as their own territory. It was precisely at such a location in Yueqing township that Laura and Euna were arrested by North Korean border sentries.

The Current TV crew narrated a video saying that they entered North Korean territory and one of them even pocketed a souvenir stone according to the post-trial report evidence.

Illegal entry is not a stupid or retarded law. Ask the Americans who live along the Mexican border.

You mean the border where thousands sneak across?

That one?

And two reporters cross into N. Korea and were sentence to ten years in hard labor camp...oh yes so the same thing.
Like if they caught a mother and their child crossing from Mexico to America and sentenced them the same you'd say....well they shouldn't have crossed.

yeah right.

J_Jammer, I'm not sure which country you're from, but if you're from the states (US), you'll understand that we have a border to the south of us. Last I checked, and correct me if I'm wrong, we have "rules" for crossing that border. Oh yeah, and the last time I flew into a different country, I had to go through their immigration services. However, it's been a few months since my last trip so maybe things have changed....

Seriously buddy, there's a border, you know the consequences and you still cross it! Are you telling the guys at the DMZ that it's okay, they should just run across, "NO PROBLEM..."

Then again, if you've never traveled anywhere out of your state or country in your life... and don't watch the news, read the news about the US/mexico border... then maybe, just maybe, I can understand why you make such comments. Oh yeah, I'll need proof that you've been chained up in a basement dungeon your entire life signed by your captor.

A fool is what you are Chheang, there is not a DMZ between China and N. Korea... the Korean DMZ is on the 38th parallel between South and North Korea... seeing as those are the two that do not get along, for the most part China and North Korea are friends... hence no DeMilitarized Zone. Oh, and North Korea is known for kidnapping people they think are "interfering" with North Korea from the Chinese side of the border. These women are not villans, and there actions did not jeopardize the precious United States ego... just yours, so just stop the preaching... and move onto something you know and/or are good at... like breathing... and staring at walls.

Uh...come to Houston and I will show you all those that crossed the border and did NOT get into trouble. They wait to get jobs at gas stations.

Ha...we do not have rules for the entire border. Maybe rules that those that follow rules abide by, but for those that do not abide they get away with doing it incorrectly.

Such as Border Patrol shooting a drug dealer who was NOT a citizen and then the Border Patrol getting into trouble for doing their job.

If anything illegals get far more protection than a citizen ever would...apparently.

Perhaps you have not considered others that need to escape hardship. What if you were trapped in a country where you were being starved or had hardly any jobs to provide for your sickly family? Would you not go somewhere that would help you?

Or perhaps you have not considered that America is nothing but immigrants and that we too took this land from its Natives? Have you considered that then they needed a shorter route to Asia to help their kingdoms. Or that England, was much too small and by the Enclosure Act left several hundreds, if not thousands, unemployed. Perhaps you do not know that not much has changed in these undeveloped nations and that they need to escape?

Anyhow, journalists are there to get the truth by any means necessary. If you have sat at home and watched a single Vanguard episode you would understand they were doing this to provide us with the best. Even if what they did is wrong, they had good intentions. The specifics will be somewhat cleared up at a later time, as they said before. Perhaps you should pay more attention to what you say and know before you start throwing out sarcasm and dry wit.

To Milch: I apologize... I should have been more clear... figured everyone knew of the DMZ... I meant DMZ between S. and N. Korea.

As for the border in Texas... Yep, I believe you... completely open and available for folks to cross over willy, nilly.

And... to Amber... I've watched a lot of Vanguard pieces. However, I don't believe Vanguard condones illegal action to get any of their pieces. If so, I would like Vanguard to come out and just tell us so, but I'll err on the side that Vanguard won't release a press release encouraging their reporters to commit illegal acts to get a story.

Honestly, all I'm saying with the replies is: before we condemn other countries for their actions, we must take responsibility for our actions. Do I believe these 2 women deserve their original sentence? No. Did I believe the 2 women would have to serve their full term? No.

Anyhow, it's late. Right or wrong, these women were punished for an illegal act.

It has been speculated that the girls were lost, the guide was a spy and sold them to North Korea, that the girls dress as Korean refugees, maybe to do a reinactment, that this was all Laura's idea, she was competing with her more famous sister I thought I would throw in a scenario myself, not to pin the blame on the camera man, but to illustrate that until SOMEONE, ANYONE, tells us what happened, all we are left with is speculation and jumping to conclusions.

On Larry King Live, Lisa told Larry that the camera man/producer "who essentially escaped" called his wife, who called someone else who finally called Lisa. Yet throughout the interview, Lisa kept saying the only two people who knew what happened were Laura and Euna. I conclude that Mr Koss did not talk to or share any knowledge of the day with her, or that if he did, they were not at liberty to discuss it.

I don't expect the girls to be telling us anything anytime soon. Regardless of how any of the public feel about the situation, I can only imaging that once the high of getting home has worn off, there is a lot of physical and mental healing that they will be going through. Give them space. But there are people that can shed some light on events. Maybe they aren't saying anything out of respect for Laura and Euna. Well, at least tell us that!

If these reporters and this story belonged to another network, what would Current's stance be toward that network? Would they accept the silence, or would they be pushing for the story?

The girls were not lost. The guide might be a suspicious character; I would like to hear Euna's impression of him. Laura and Euna dressed as Korean refugees? I don't think so; that's like inviting North Korean border sentries to shoot them in the back. I believe it was more like a quick photo (and video) opportunity to enhance their documentary.

Mitch called Iain Clayton, Laura's husband, and it was Iain who initially informed Lisa of Laura's detention. Of course Mitch later told Lisa what happened but Lisa and CNN never mention the name "Mitch Koss" on TV or on CNN's blogs.

I still expect an editorial any day now from Laura as Lisa said was forthcoming. We have to keep hitting the refresh button just like we waited for the KCNA post-trial report after June 4. A video on Current.com would be even better, especially if it featured Laura, Mitch, and Euna together on one couch! Kumbaya, my lord, kumbaya....

The only other person who can shed light on what happened March 17, aside from the guide, is Reverend Chun Ki-won. He was the last person to communicate with Euna on the morning of March 17 before the Tumen River border caper occured. He also might know where that local guide is right now.

I'm not replying because this is interesting. Maco obviously hasn't read ALL the info about WHY Laura Ling and Euna Lee, working on a documentary for CURRENT TV re: the sex trafficking trade going on be-tween China AND...N. Korea. Their guide, I..believe, knew WHAT HE......was doing that lead these two journalists to cross a non-obvious border between the two countries.
Maco, get your facts straight BEFORE you go condemning what they did. Had they actually gone into N. Korea to report on the refugees living in Yanji, I doubt they'd even be home now! North Korean officials do.not.like.outsiders.showing the world what happens inside North Korea. That can mean indefinite imprisonment. I guess in rushing to judgement, THAT did NOT occur to you!

All I know about Laura Ling besides both sisters being journalists for Current TV is that Lisa is Laura's best friend and having a sister myself, I wish we had that type of best friend, however, due to circumstances beyond our control, that...will NEVER happen. Lisa and Laura have a lot in common, and I kind of envy that.
In watching the two sisters reunite, I thought how LUCKY they are to have each other.
I heard the commentator on ABC's The View telling her co-stars that Lisa is a member of The View family.
WELCOME HOME Laura Ling and Euna Lee!

whoa! wait a minute.... "horrible place," "tortured" and "starved" in "concentration camps"?

those are very strong words. especially in this situation. look, none of us know what happened to them over there. in-so-far, it's only hearsay of what we have heard from their close relations.

a statement like that implies that they were treated in the same way. please, for the sake of those who have only just learned this, let's try not to put words into their mouths. the statement of this issue stands alone.

even the politicians aren't talking.
right now it is obvious, mum's the word.

I only speak my own words, and would really appreciate others here not continually telling me what words to say or putting words in my mouth. Is there any thread we can go on where at least one person doesn't deem themselves the word and thought police? North Korea is indeed a horrible place and people are being starved and tortured in concentration camps. I don't need a "politician" to tell me that. I read.

Says the lady who decides to tell others that what they post is not news....speaking of thought police.

There is a time and a place to state your opinions on what transpired. Speaking your mind every chance you can makes you like PeTA...soon no one will listen because they know that you'll just be negative and disgruntled.

I personally like most of your post because you do speak your mind and that is necessary in a place like this and very appreciated, but this is neither the time nor the place to get into what you read about. I'm sure there are news articles you could find and post that would allow you to share your opinions without raining on parades.

Again, I hope that one day soon we will be able to get out the truth of the human rights abuses happening in North Korea. I also look forward to hopefully seeing their report when they feel ready to put it together. And just FYI, there will never be a day when you or anyone gets to tell me when it is the "right time" to discuss such an important topic here or anywhere else. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my original comment and I will continue to comment here as I see fit.

I have no doubt you will continue your selfish comments.

Caring about human rights is not selfish, and the people at Vanguard whose stories reflect that would more than likely agree.

How is it that you state what you say that is on your mind but anyone that has anything to say against you is in some sort of entourage?

And you are right that it is not wrong to fight for human rights. But you're not just fighting for human rights as much as you are trying to be in the limelight. Look at me I care. Look at me I see more here than meets the eye. Look at me I have more care for other people I've never met than the people that the camera is focused on.

Because if Civil rights was really all you cared about and you did not care to have any of that spotlight then you would be doing things other than making crass comments on welcome home threads/videos.

You would actually doing something positive to help those in the prison instead of hijacking people's thanks you and appreciation.

I just don't buy that you are who you say you are because you don't show it. You just say it in a blunt matter and then get annoyed when the favor is returned about your behavior.

PS--grudge for what? And it might be hard to swallow but you're not better than other people because you are thinking of prisoners that are not free.

I often wonder if you are ever pleased or do you just have a thorn in your paw waiting for a mouse to pull it out so you can have some sort of resemblance of joy that you not only have but share.

Jan stated her piece, sk8bs55 stated it for everyone else, let it go and do not drag out a long argument about nothing, especially on a thread like this. You have to learn when to let things go... this is one of those times. Let it go.

Recommending is a way to show your approval of a comment without having to use words. Nothing cowardly about it. But if you insist it is, then every time you recommend something, you're an even greater coward for hiding behind a hypocritical statement.

Line... sand... drawn... do not cross... retract claws. If nothing else take it personal messages between each other... for crying out loud...

Same here. I had no idea they were allowed letters, but I am so glad that others were more on top of the information than I was. Laura and Euna were in my thoughts and prayers every day, so I guess I could say I was sending them "mental letters" the entire time.

Welcome home ladies. We look forward to hearing more from you when you're rested and ready. :)

what courage...it was arrogant, ignorance that put them in that situation...it is a great thing that they are home safe....but this is not about their courage it is about their stupidity.....

this got me too ... and good.