Part 9 (1/2)

While the plane taxied on the runway, Euna and Laura looked through the c.o.c.kpit to see their families anxiously awaiting their arrival.

Just moments before the plane landed in Burbank, California, on August 5, 2009, Laura and Euna posed for this photograph with President Clinton and his team. From left to right: Justin Cooper, Dr. Roger Band, President Bill Clinton, Euna Lee, Laura Ling, Min Ji Kwon, Doug Band, David Straub, and John Podesta.

Mary hugging Laura moments after her return, while Iain and Lisa look on.

From left to right: Charles Clayton, Vice President Al Gore, Iain, Laura, President Bill Clinton, Lisa, Paul Song, Mary, and Doug.

In September 2009, our family threw a luncheon at Woo Lae Oak restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, to thank Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and State Department colleagues who helped with our case.

Kurt Tong (left) (left) and Linda McFayden and Linda McFayden (center) (center) of the U.S. Department of State were our regular government contacts and friends during Laura's captivity. We were so happy that Swedish amba.s.sador to North Korea, Mats Foyer of the U.S. Department of State were our regular government contacts and friends during Laura's captivity. We were so happy that Swedish amba.s.sador to North Korea, Mats Foyer (right) (right) , happened to be visiting the United States when we threw the luncheon and was also able to attend. Amba.s.sador Foyer was Laura's lifeline to her family and the outside world. , happened to be visiting the United States when we threw the luncheon and was also able to attend. Amba.s.sador Foyer was Laura's lifeline to her family and the outside world.

Without explaining how, Deputy a.s.sistant Secretary Steinberg said that overtures had been made to North Korea to have direct talks about Laura and Euna, but there had been no response. Secretary Clinton reiterated the importance of maintaining low visibility so as not to raise the stakes and possibly provoke the people who were holding Laura and Euna. She strongly suggested that we continue not speaking publicly about the matter.

Then Al Gore chimed in. He told Secretary Clinton that he would be willing to go to North Korea if the opportunity presented itself.

To that, she remarked, ”That's not a bad idea, Al. That just might work.”

I was worried about what this would mean for Governor Richardson. No one in the room knew I had been communicating with him. If Gore were appointed to this mission, would the governor be out? I had only one objective, but I wondered if a change might result in the bruising of egos. The governor had become a confidant, and I knew he took our case very seriously. Still, at the end of the day, all I cared about was getting my sister out, no matter who was taking it on. I even thought the more people trying, the better.

That same day, we went to see Amba.s.sador Zhou at the newly built Chinese Emba.s.sy in Was.h.i.+ngton. Designed by the two sons of renowned architect I. M. Pei, this structure is an imposingly modern, sleek symbol of China's emergence. Even though Governor Richardson had told me that the North Koreans loathed having to answer to China, we hoped that given our Chinese descent, the Chinese government might help us somehow. We presented Amba.s.sador Zhou with a Hermes tie upon entering the room. He was formal but kind enough.

We told him we believed the North Korean soldiers crossed into China to apprehend Laura and Euna. We asked if the Chinese government would raise this with the government of North Korea.

”I'm sorry but we cannot help you,” he replied. ”First of all, they were inside China without the appropriate visa.”

What the amba.s.sador said was true. Laura and her team had gone to China as tourists instead of journalists because they wanted to avoid the watchful eyes of Chinese government officials while reporting on the controversial issue of trafficking. In other words, he made it clear that we shouldn't look to China for help. That said, he kept the tie.

Meanwhile, Al Gore became a man on a mission. He had been engaged from the start, but after our meeting with Secretary Clinton, he went from taking cues from the State Department to becoming an active player in the game North Korea was perpetrating. Getting the girls out was among the most important things on his list of priorities. Additionally, the State Department had apparently found another means of communicating with North Korea outside of the ”New York channel,” and Gore allowed himself to be presented as an envoy to this other source. He was certainly a formidable candidate: a former vice president of the United States, former presidential candidate, n.o.bel Peace Prize winner, and chairman of the company that employed Laura and Euna.

We were starting to feel more momentum than we'd had in months. Gore brought his former national security adviser, Leon Fuerth, on board to be his lead in diplomatic efforts. Things were looking good.

Then, entirely unexpectedly, we were thrown for a loop. No more than a few days after our meeting with her, during an official press conference with Malaysia's foreign minister, Secretary Clinton made the following public statement regarding North Korea's designation of a June 4 trial date for Laura and Euna, when asked about it by a journalist in the room: ”Actually the trial date being set we view as a welcome time frame,” she said. ”We believe that the charges are baseless and should not have been brought, and that these two young women should be released immediately.”

The statement was picked up by press all over the world, and immediately confusion set in. We had just been in the secretary's office discussing the importance of not antagonizing North Korea's leaders.h.i.+p, and I didn't know where the idea that the charges were baseless came from. The secretary was calling into question North Korea's legal system. Since words mean everything in North Korea, we wondered what this might do to our case.

Our family had been ultracautious in our choice of language when discussing anything about North Korea. Deferential, respectful, Deferential, respectful, and and ingratiatory ingratiatory were the words we lived by. We desperately hoped the North Koreans would not take offense at the secretary's remarks and set us back. But the idea of a release before the June 4 trial date was looking dim. were the words we lived by. We desperately hoped the North Koreans would not take offense at the secretary's remarks and set us back. But the idea of a release before the June 4 trial date was looking dim.

CHAPTER SIX.

the phone call LAURA.

ONE COLD, DRIZZLY AFTERNOON, Mr. Yee and Mr. Baek showed up at my room, and Mr. Yee gave the nod that I knew meant he wanted to go outside for a walk. I put on a black parka that had been provided for me and followed them outdoors. Mr. Yee did not seem himself. His face was flushed and his eyes were glazed. I thought he might be inebriated.

”Is there any news?” I asked.

”I'd tell you if there was any news.” His voice had a nasal sound, and he seemed congested.

”Are you okay? Are you feeling sick?” I asked sympathetically.

”Of course I am not okay. Do you think I like being in detention? You are not the only one in detention, you know. As long as you are here, I have to be here, and he has to be here.” He pointed to Mr. Baek.

”I'm so sorry. I really wish you could go home, that we could all go home. I know my actions have affected a lot of people, and I feel terrible about that.”

”Your government, I just don't understand them. Your black president”-he often referred to President Obama with those words-”he doesn't seem to care about you.”

”So what do you think is going to happen?” I asked nervously.

”I've been drinking today,” he said. ”Do you know why I've been drinking?”

I shook my head.

”I was very upset today because I thought that by now your government would have done something. Every day, my bosses tell me to wrap up this case so they can put you on trial. I've been dragging things along so your government might act. But now it's too late.”

”What do you mean it's too late? What's going to happen to me?”

”You will be going to trial.”

”Does that mean there's no hope left? Will I be going to a labor camp?”

”Don't worry. It won't be for very long.”

”But you said that even the U.S. media is reporting that we'll receive a harsh sentence if we go to trial.”

”You will be given a long sentence, but you'll probably only serve for a year or two before your government finally decides to act.”

”What? A year or two? I can't be here for that long. I won't last. I won't survive!”

”Don't be silly. You'll be fine. It will be good for you. It will make you tougher. Nelson Mandela was in prison for twenty-seven years.”

I was in shock. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my legs began to buckle underneath me. I crouched to the ground to regain my balance. The rain was pouring down around us. I couldn't fully comprehend what he was telling me. Had the North Korean authorities decided it was too late to work out something with my government?

”Don't be like that. Get up. You have me, your big brother here,” he said trying to console me. ”Let's go inside.”

He escorted me back to my room and turned away to leave. As he did, Mr. Baek translated his words: ”I really wish I could communicate with you.” I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but he couldn't with Mr. Baek around.