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Under North Korea's criminal code, conviction for illegal entry could mean up to three years in a labor camp. Espionage or "hostility toward North Koreans" -- possible crimes that could be considered "hostile acts"
-- could mean five to 10 years in prison, South Korean legal expert Moon Dae-hong said. Past detentions of Americans have required diplomatic intervention. In 1994, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, then a congressman, went to Pyongyang to secure the release of a soldier captured after his helicopter strayed into North Korea. He went back in 1996 to help free an American held for three months on spying charges after going for a swim in the Yalu, another river dividing North Korea and China. Washington, which does not have diplomatic ties with Pyongyang, has relied so far on the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang to negotiate on its behalf. A Swedish envoy has met with both journalists, U.S. officials said. State Department spokesman Fred Lash said late Thursday he had not seen the North Korean report and had no comment. Current TV officials did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment. Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, described the Americans' capture as a bonanza for the North Koreans, who he said would stage a "political trial" reflective of the tense relations between Washington and Pyongyang. "Our greatest fear is that they are being used as pawns in the broader game being played out on the Korean peninsula," said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists..
[Associated
Press;
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