American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced 12 years in a labor camp today for illegal entry into North Korea and an unspecified “grave crime.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called for the country to release Ling and Lee. The sentencing of the two women may lead to negotiations with North Korea for their release and potentially a visit from a US envoy, possibly New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who helped win the release of Americans from North Korea in the 1990s or former Vice President Al Gore, who founded the Current TV which both reporters work for. Reports say that Gore is prepared to fly to Pyongyang to negotiate the journalists’ release, but it is not clear yet how the “guilty” verdict will affect those plans.

Last week Ling and Lee’s families appeared on The Today Show apologizing if Ling and Lee accidentally crossed into North Korea. Lee’s husband told Matt Lauer that their 4-year-old daughter “still thinks Mommy’s at work.” This is so heartbreaking.