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Some speculators are claiming that Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two American journalists captured by North Korean guards back in March, and who recently went on trial for espionage, will not actually go to a typical “hard labor camp”. Their sentence, handed out early this week, put a 12-year incarceration in front of their eyes. As scary and ominous as that may sound, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk of them actually not having to serve the full sentence, or the sentence as we imagine it. As these girls are journalists, North Korea might have several options. First, they might consider treating them well, knowing that upon any release in the future, they will tell their story to the world. That, of course, will only be the case if they are ever released. This Asia Times article claims that they might even be sent to a state guest house where their “hard labor” will consist of using their training and skills to help the North Korean government, TV stations, or English training.

So who really knows? Time will tell. And time will also tell how far America is willing to go in protecting these girls. I hate to imagine the day when a decision must be made as we’re staring at a scale with two American girls on one side, and a potential global nuclear threat on the other. At the moment it seems all the United States is trying to do is keep these two issues as separate as possible.