NKorea to indict US journalists: state media

North Korea is preparing to indict two detained US journalists after it accused them of illegally entering the communist country, state media said early Tuesday.

"The illegal entry of US reporters into the DPRK and their suspected hostile acts have been confirmed by evidence and their statements," the Korean Central News Agency KCNA said.

The report said "a competent organ of the DPRK North Korea" had investigated the pair.

"The organ is carrying on its investigation and, at the same time, making a preparation for indicting them at a trial on the basis of the already confirmed suspicions," the report said.

The pair, Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, who work for Current TV in California, would be allowed consular access and would be treated according to international law, it added.

They were detained before dawn on March 17 along the border with China.

The KCNA report did not specify what was meant by "hostile acts" and did not say when they might appear in court, but specialists in South Korea have said they could be tried for spying.

This latest declaration over the US pair comes as tensions are running high in the region over Pyongyang's plans to launch what it says is a communications satellite early next month.

Washington and its allies say it is really a disguised missile test.

On Monday, the US said a Swedish envoy acting on behalf of Washington had visited the two journalists.

"It was over the weekend," State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters. "A representative of the Swedish embassy met with each one individually," he said. He gave out no details as to their condition.

US officials said it was the first time that Sweden, which represents US diplomatic interests in Pyongyang, had been able to gain consular access to the two journalists.

The State Department said last week the North Koreans had assured US officials that the pair would be treated well.

South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, quoting a South Korean intelligence source, said the pair had been transported to a top-security guest house on the outskirts of Pyongyang a day after they were seized.

But State Department officials have said they do not know where the pair are being detained.

In a separate case, the North has detained a South Korean at a joint industrial estate in the communist state for allegedly criticising its political system and encouraging a local worker to defect, Seoul said Monday.

North Korea is one of the world's most isolated and impoverished countries. Journalists who want to visit must obtain special visas and are accompanied by official guides.

In 1994, Richardson helped negotiate the release of a US military helicopter pilot shot down after straying into North Korea.





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