Jailed American Journalists Face Trial In N. Korea

Earlier this month, advocates for press freedom cheered the release of reporter Roxana Saberi, who spent three and a half months at Evin Prison in Tehran on charges of espionage.

Those same advocates have also kept their attention on two other American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who are being held in North Korea. They are employees of Current, a multimedia network co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore.

Lee is a producer for the network. Her job is to figure out logistics for reporting from the field, like finding guides and translators and scheduling interviews. Ling is an on-air correspondent for Current. She's filed investigative reports from some of the world's most dangerous locations.

The women were on assignment along North Korea's border with China when they were arrested March 17. North Korea's official news agency has reported that Ling and Lee will stand trial Thursday, but it has not released details about the charges against them.

Pyongyang has accused the women of illegally entering North Korea and committing what it calls undetermined "hostile acts." If Ling and Lee are convicted, they could be sent to a labor camp for several years or to prison for up to 10 years.

The women were accompanied by a Current TV cameraman and Chinese guide while on assignment. The cameraman declined to comment on the case.