AND NOW NORTH KOREA - AT 7:16 A.M. ET:  It seems we just went through this with Iran.  From The New York Times:

SEOUL — Two American journalists who have been detained in North Korea for two months on charges of illegal entry and “hostile acts” will be put on trial June 4, the Communist North announced on Thursday.

The reporters, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were arrested by the North Korean military on March 17 on the border between China and North Korea. They had been in China reporting on North Korean refugees for Current TV, a San Francisco-based media company founded by Al Gore, the former vice president.

COMMENT:  We wonder what Gore is doing to get these people back. 

North Korea has been particularly belligerent recently, and we have to speculate that these two are being held as bargaining chips.  We did not punish Iran in any way for improperly holding an American journalist (now released), and we're sure North Korea absorbed that message.  They have reason to believe that they will not suffer any ill effects either.

May 14, 2009