EPICANTHUS

The two Asian American journalists arrested by DPRK soldiers last week were part of a three-person team that set out from Los Angeles earlier this month to document the underground railroad North Korean refugees use to reach the relative safe haven of China, where they receive aid from beckoning South Korean and Korean American Christian groups.

The Current TV team was made up of veteran newsman Mitch Koss, special correspondent Laura Ling and videographer Euna Lee (shown in the video above), all from the cable outlet’s elite Vanguard investigative reporting unit which is headquartered in Hollywood. Ling, vice president of Current Vanguard, is the younger sister of network and National Geographic reporter Lisa Ling.

Lee and Ling were arrested and charged with spying in the pre-dawn hours of March 17 as they reportedly videotaped in North Korean territory. They were whisked in separate vehicles to Pyongyang for questioning. Spying carries a 20-year sentence in North Korea, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported.

Koss, Vanguard executive producer, somehow managed to elude capture, was briefly held by Chinese authorities and then dropped out of sight.

“The North has assured us the detainees will be well-treated,” said State Dept. spokesman Robert Wood.

Co-founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in 2005, Current TV was bankrolled by venture capitalists Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Ron Burkle. Former President Bill Clinton and Rev. Jesse Jackson serve on the Current TV board.

• Guide May Have Led Reporters Into NKorea, AP
• Christian Underground Smuggles North Koreans to Safety in South, SFGate
• Back to Jerusalem, Durihana, Inc.
• Doug Ling: “I Worry Quite a Bit,” KCRA
• Current TV Reporting by Laura Ling
• Euna Lee Résumé
• Axis of Evil World Tour 2002, LAT Opinion, Mitchell Koss
• Refugees Could Undo Kim, LAT Opinion, Mitchell Koss