| The FABlife

Lisa Ling’s Sister And Friend Sentenced To 12 Years Of Labor

Lisa Ling’s sister Laura Ling and her friend Euna Lee have been sentenced to 12 years in labor camps for committing alleged “hostile acts” after being arrested by North Korean military on the Chinese border on March 17th.

On Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency said the women were sentenced “for the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing.”

On Friday, former View co-host Lisa seemed optimistic when she wrote on Twitter, “Trying to believe that Laura and Euna have won some hearts over, hence the silence.”

Now Lisa and her family prefer to think of the political opportunity presented by the plight of Laura and Euna. “We would champion the opportunity to have these girls be the catalyst for diplomacy,” Lisa said. [Source: People; Photo: Getty Images]

Lisa Ling’s Sister Going To Court In North Korea

Lisa Ling

Ugh, it’s getting ugly in North Korea. Lisa Ling‘s sister Laura Ling is currently jailed in the communist country, and it looks like she will officially be tried for “illegal entry” and “hostile acts.”

Along with fellow journalist Euna Lee, Ling will be tried for “already confirmed suspicions,” reports a Korean news agency (government run, natch). Both work for Current TV, and were captured on the North Korea-China border. They were filming a documentary at the time.

Ling has acknowledged that her job entails some danger, telling a group of TV critics earlier this year: “We go to a lot of dangerous places. But we don’t do it for the danger and the drama. We do it because these stories are important and they need to be told.” [Photo: GettyImages]

Related Content
Lisa Ling’s Sister Jailed In North Korea

Lisa Ling’s Sister Jailed In North Korea

Journalist Lisa Ling has covered some harrowing places during her career, but none so scary and dismal, we imagine, as the North Korean jail her sister currently calls home. The former View co-host (who now does stories for Oprah Winfrey‘s show) is surely a bit freaked out today, after the North Korean government confirmed this weekend that is has detained her sister, Laura Ling.

Ling and fellow journalist Euna Lee were doing a story about North Korean refugees in China, and were picked up by gun-toting soldiers when they crossed the border into the communist nation. They were busted for “illegally intruding,” and while the U.S. goverment is closely monitoring the situation, they have yet to be released. If we know Lisa (and after watching thousands of View eps, we do!) she’s probably already in China solving the case right now. [NYDN/ABC News. Photo: WireImage]