For the first time since they arrived back in the U.S. a month ago, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have written up their account of exactly what happened to them in North Korea. This part of the story we already knew: The two were in China reporting for a piece about North Korean women who were fleeing across the border, only to find that their lives in China were pretty miserable and that they were hungry, victims of violence, and often ended up stripping online.

But what we didn’t know is exactly how their arrest happened and whether they did in fact cross into Kim Jong Il land.

Americans rejoiced when U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were pardoned last week by the North Korean government after being detained in a prison there for nearly five months. The women look forward to sharing their experience with the public, but are first taking some time to settle back into their normal lives and enjoy being with their families once again. In the meantime, they’ve posted this video at Current, the news organization the two work for, thanking everyone for their support — the letters, postcards, candlelight vigils, websites, messages to congressmen, etc. “[They] gave us strength to endure the difficult time we spent in North Korea.” When they’re ready to share it, I’m sure their story will be fascinating.

The two journalists who were freed from a North Korean prison and the horror of a possible 12 year sentence of hard labor (through the private diplomatic efforts of Bill Clinton), are women who have personal and private lives. Besides being known worldwide for their ordeal, both Euna Lee and Laura Ling are wives, daughters, sisters, and daughters-in-law. Euna is also a mother. While all the relationships mentioned help define us as individuals and offer their own sources of strength, today’s article addresses how a supportive marriage can be a source of strength to us in times of crisis. The husbands of both journalists certainly prove this fact true. Continue reading...

It’s as if Bill Clinton boarded a plane, showed up in North Korea, said “Abracadabra!” and had Laura Ling and Euna Lee home minutes later. The two Current TV reporters are officially back in America and have been reunited with their families. We are ecstatic to hear this amazing news, but are dying to know—what exactly did Clinton do to get them released so quickly? Our best theories after the jump.

American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling are reunited with their familiars after being pardoned by the North Korean government yesterday. [Burbank, CA, 8/4/09]

We’ll keep you posted as more news comes in, but it appears that Bill Clinton has done a kick ass job. [Twitter]

UPDATE: CNN has confirmed that North Korean President Kim Jong Il has pardoned American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Hooray!

Bill Clinton to the rescue! Slick Willy is currently in North Korea, trying to negotiate the release of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who’ve been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for “illegal activity” after entering North Korea to report on Korean refugees. North Korea’s nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye Gwan, greeted Clinton at the airport, which has led many people to think that North Korea might try to use the women as a bargaining chip with the U.S. over their use of nuclear weapons. Bill insists that he’s avoiding that sticky issue, but even if he does get sucked into that debate, I gotta hand it to Bill, his timing is totally brilliant. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il, is pretty sick—he may have pancreatic cancer, though people aren’t sure how bad it is because the government is so secretive. However, Kim Jong II is gonna be dying (pun!) for a photo shoot with the ex-prez. If he doesn’t make the photo-op, people are going to know he’s in really bad shape. [LA Times]

All of this sounds great—Clinton hopefully will be able to make some inroads in freeing Laura and Euna and do some reconnaissance work regarding North Korea’s government. But we do have one question—where’s Secretary of State Hillary?

Finally, some good news has come from North Korea about detained journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Despite being sentenced to 12 years of hard labor last month for illegally entering North Korea, the pair is currently staying at a guest house in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. This update comes just days after Lisa Ling received a relieving phone call from her sister. According to political scientist Han Park, “North Korea’s move not to carry out the sentence suggests that it could release them through a dialogue with the United States and they could be set free at an early date, depending on the U.S. gesture.” Keeping my fingers crossed for their safe return! [Yahoo News]

In June, journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years in a labor camp, after crossing into North Korea while working on a story for Current TV about the sad lives of the country’s female refugees. Hillary Clinton is hustling to try to get the two released, but so far things aren’t going very well. The only good news in the story is that Laura’s sister, Lisa Ling, who you probably remember from “The View,” got a call from her last night. “It was a tremendous relief to hear Laura’s voice. The silence has been just so terrifying and deafening,” Lisa told a radio station this morning. “She was very specific about the message she was communicating and she said, ‘Look, we violated North Korean law and we need our government to help us. We’re sorry about everything that happened, but now we need diplomacy.” Let’s hope it works. [AFP via Yahoo News]

I can’t stop thinking about how insane it is that journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years in a North Korean labor camp for committing a still undefined crime. President Obama has promised to stop at nothing to get them released, but still—if I ever took my freedom for granted, I won’t anymore. What did these women do? Did they cross the Chinese border into North Korea illegally? Were they being used as bargaining chips in a U.N. debate?  All we know is that they were chasing a human rights story for Current TV. Now the details of the story they were tracking are finally starting to emerge.

North Korea’s highest court sentenced American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee today to 12 years in a labor camp for illegal entry into the country and an unspecified “grave crime.” Seoul officials said the decision is final, as the top North Korean court does not allow appeals. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the country to release Ling and Lee, and word is that despite not having formal diplomatic relations with North Korea, the U.S. will send someone like Al Gore (who owns Current, where the women work) or New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on a mission to get the journalists released. All we can think about is Lee’s four-year-old daughter who, at this point, still thinks her mommy is away for work. [CNN, Korea Times, Liberate Laura & Euna Now]