Regarding Tom Plate's June 16 article, "Jailing U.S. journalists could prove costly": If not for the nuclear threat, it would indeed be curious that such a small, mostly insignificant country as North Korea could constantly make the top news. Its actions are illogical and sometimes unpredictable.

So, what in the hell were those two ladies doing within meters of the border of such a nation? Would being, say, a kilometer away from the border on the Chinese side have impacted the quality of their journalistic activities? Weren't they warned? All these questions come to mind, but we still need to do whatever we can to get them back.

jim benedict