US journalists admit illegal entry to North Korea

The two US journalists jailed last week in North Korea have admitted to entering the country illegally.



North Korea’s state news agency says Laura Ling and Euna Lee have admitted and accepted their sentences.



The agency says the journalists acknowledged what they did as criminal acts.



However the agency says the acts of the American journalists were part of a political motive to isolate and stifle North Korea’s socialist system.



The journalist were given jail terms of 12 years\' hard labour, after being found guilty of crossing into North Korea from the Chinese border in March.



US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is said to be considering sending an envoy to negotiate their release.



But supporters of Ling and Lee are concerned that their plight will be negatively affected by worsening relations between the US and North Korea.