Hospitality Isn't a Strength in the Hermit Kingdom

Journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling are very lucky Bill Clinton's diplomacy skills haven't gotten rusty. On March 17, the reporters, on assignment for Al Gore's Current TV network, crossed over the border into North Korea while filming a report on human-trafficking. Though the two were in the country for "maybe 30 seconds," according to Ling's sister, they were swiftly captured by border guards and soon found themselves sentenced by North Korea's highest court to 12 years of hard labor in a prison camp. Former President Clinton was able to negotiate the duo's release after 140 days in custody.

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