U.S. Shackled by Pyongyang's Ploy

WASHINGTON - Now comes the hard part for American policy-makers: balancing a tough line on North Korea's nuclear and missile tests with mounting public demands in the United States to win the release of two American television journalists convicted of "grave crimes" and sentenced to 12 years of "hard labor".

No one in Washington seems to have any idea what to do. The statements that have been issued have not had the slightest impact on North Korean strategists. Instead, Pyongyang's attitude has underscored its success in using the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee of Al Gore's Current TV network, as tools in a much larger game.