Pawns

The NYTimes reported on two American journalists that were caught crossing the border from China into North Korea and are being detained.

"When Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee were arrested on the border between China and North Korea under the still-unclear circumstances, they became unwitting pawns in the delicate international politics surrounding the North’s planned rocket launch, said a senior South Korean official."

I think that line hits the nail on the head. Unfortunately, I think Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee are in for a long and awful stay in North Korea. It will be interesting to see if the US government will be at all successful in negotiating their release. I feel very bad for them.