North Korea has likely sent two US journalists detained by border guards last week to the capital Pyongyang for questioning, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported yesterday.
The US State Department has expressed concern over the fate of the two women, who are believed to have been taken into custody while filming near the Tumen river, an escape route for those fleeing the communist state.
Confirmation by North Korea’s state media on Saturday of their detention showed the central government was directly involved in their case, Yonhap said, quoting an unnamed source in China.
“Given the significance of the case, it is very likely that the two US journalists have been sent to Pyongyang for questioning directly by the North’s security and military agencies,” the source told Yonhap.
The North may use the case “politically,” it added. Government officials in Seoul could not confirm the Yonhap report.
North Korea on Saturday confirmed that it had detained the duo for “illegally intruding into the territory” of the communist country on March 17.
The official Korean Central News Agency said in a terse dispatch: “A competent organ is now investigating the case,” giving no further details of the whereabouts of the Americans.
Diplomatic sources said Washington and Pyongyang were in talks over the release of the two, identified as Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling (凌志美), a Taiwanese-American, who both work for Current TV in California.
Ling’s family emigrated from Taiwan to the US several years ago and now lives in Los Angeles.
Ling’s sister, Lisa Ling (凌志慧), a former co-host of the American TV talk show The View and is now a correspondent for National Geographic Channel’s Explorer.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
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