I know that the circumstances surrounding their capture remain unclear, but these reporters decided to tackle a risky subject in a risky country with risky motivations.

Clearly these two reports did not properly weigh the risks (N Korea, border patrols, bad USA relations) with the other subjects in their lives (children, freedom, employment).

Take a look at the NYT information about these reporters:

“Ms. Lee, 36, moved to the United States from South Korea in the mid-1990s and had settled into a quiet, steady life of work and family; she and Mr. Saldate have a 4-year-old daughter. Mr. Saldate, a stand-up comic and actor, was the public performer in the couple; Ms. Lee’s sole appearance on the Current TV Web site is a five-second clip of her holding up a can of soda. “Euna loves Dr Pepper,” the clip is titled.

Ms. Ling grew up with her sister in Carmichael, Calif., where she excelled at school and, according to a friend, Marcus Marquez, charted an ambitious life. She graduated with a communications degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1998.”

Come on now! A MOM and someone with a COMMUNICATIONS DEGREE? That doesn’t sound like two people who should be messing around a militarized border in a country that isn’t very nice.

Luckily for these two fools this is a political battle and not a battle of justice or law. NKorea is trying to push weight around in the face of criticism around nuclear testing.

The question is: how will the USA respond politically?