Surviving North Korea: Laura Ling's 140 Days in Captivity
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Still, the most important relationship Laura developed was with her investigator. "In the beginning, he was very, very stern. One look from him could send me into a state of nervousness and fear," she says. "But over time, I feel like I developed a relationship with him and that he wanted me to go home. And he was trying to convey information to me that I could convey to Lisa that might help me get home."
The interrogator told Laura that the United States needed to send an envoy to negotiate her release. "At one point, we were talking about who would be an acceptable envoy," she says. "And I was trying to say, 'Well, what about the chairman of my company, Vice President Gore?'"
Instead, President Barack Obama was suggested. "I said, 'Sir, with all due respect, if you think President Obama is going to come here, you might as well send me to the camp right now," she says. "And he said, 'Well, what about past presidents?' That's how President Clinton's name evolved."
Laura convinced her interrogator to let her call Lisa to relay the information. Soon, the sisters were the only channel through which the governments of both countries were communicating. "It was unprecedented [that] they let Laura call me," Lisa says. "That's how the information was getting across, and that's how eventually it was communicated from Laura to me that the envoy had to be Bill Clinton."
The interrogator told Laura that the United States needed to send an envoy to negotiate her release. "At one point, we were talking about who would be an acceptable envoy," she says. "And I was trying to say, 'Well, what about the chairman of my company, Vice President Gore?'"
Instead, President Barack Obama was suggested. "I said, 'Sir, with all due respect, if you think President Obama is going to come here, you might as well send me to the camp right now," she says. "And he said, 'Well, what about past presidents?' That's how President Clinton's name evolved."
Laura convinced her interrogator to let her call Lisa to relay the information. Soon, the sisters were the only channel through which the governments of both countries were communicating. "It was unprecedented [that] they let Laura call me," Lisa says. "That's how the information was getting across, and that's how eventually it was communicated from Laura to me that the envoy had to be Bill Clinton."
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