North Korea Sentences US Journalists! HARD LABOR

Two female journalists were captured in North Korea and charged with illegally crossing the border and "hostile acts" [although it is speculated that that they were aggressively approached near the border].

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were former employees of Current TV, owned by former vice president Al Gore.

Captured March 17th, the women are said to have been reporting on female human trafficking.

Trial began June 4, and was very silent. Nothing had been heard from the capture until the trial, and nothing again until their recent sentencing.

"The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing," said the Korean Central News Agency, the official state news agency. It said the court had "sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labour".

Hillary Clinton has sent a letter to Pyongyang demanding their release. "I have taken every action that we thought would produce the result we are looking for," she said, adding that she wanted them to be "sent home".

Choi Eun-suk, a professor of North Korean law at Kyungnam University said there was no option to appeal the verdict because the decisions of Pyongyang's High Court are considered final.

It is speculated that the women were captured and held as a bartering chip. Obama has recently looked into  listing North Korea as a state that sponsors terrorism, an act that could ensue with a harsh arms emabrgo.