American Journalists Stand Trial in North Korea This Week

Two American journalists captured approximately three months ago in North Korea are due to stand trial this week in Pyongyang.

According to The Associated Press, the verdict could land the two women in one of the country's most notorious labor camps.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee were accused of participating in hostile acts and trespassing into North Korea. They are said to have been reporting on the lives and wellbeing of women and children in the country for Al Gore's network, Current TV LLC, when they were taken into custody, reported the Wall Street Journal.

The Los Angeles Times comments that the women may receive harsher, less negotiable punishments since the development of the widely disapproved nuclear tests conducted earlier this month.

Although the Obama administration has quietly attempted to discuss the release of the two prisoners, it has been of little avail. The Wall Street Journal quoted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the situation saying that the announcement of the trial is "a signal that there can be, and I hope will be, a resolution as soon as possible."