Journalist held in captivity in North Korea says she’s busy getting back to day-to-day life

Freed journalist gets back to day-to-day life

LOS ANGELES — One of the two U.S. journalists imprisoned in North Korea for 4½ months said Tuesday she has spent much of her first week of freedom catching up on playtime with her 4-year-old daughter and reacquainting herself with simple day-to-day pleasures like going for a walk.

In her first public statement since arriving home last Wednesday, Euna Lee also thanked those she said lobbied tirelessly to free her and fellow reporter Laura Ling since their capture in March.

“Knowing that you would not stop until we came home kept me going day by day in North Korea,” Lee said in a letter posted on a Web site set up to lobby for the reporters’ freedom.

Describing how she has kept busy since returning home, Lee said she has made scrambled eggs with her daughter, Hana, and walked around her Los Angeles neighborhood with Hana and her husband, Michael Saldate.

“I combed Hana’s hair and dressed her for school, I danced and jumped with Hana, I went to a cafe and had a very happy time with Michael listening to his life and shared mine, I went to church and was able to sing unto the Lord,” she said.

She said she isn’t quite ready to report what happened during the 141 days she and Ling were held captive.

“Hana is still a bit nervous about Mommy going to work again,” Lee wrote, adding her daughter warned one of their pet cats that her mother could leave again.

“I will wait for the time when Hana truly believes that Mommy’s always there for her, then I will be free to share my stories and experiences in North Korea and be able to express how thankful I am,” Lee wrote.

Lee and Ling were apprehended on March 17 after crossing into North Korea from China while working on a story for San Francisco-based Current TV about trafficking of women.

Ling spoke briefly at the airport when they returned, thanking all those who lobbied for their freedom. Her sister, Lisa Ling, told CNN the pair had crossed the border accidentally. She said her sister planned to write about the experience later.

In her letter, Lee said she began to look at e-mails and Web postings on behalf of her and Ling but stopped when she realized there were so many it would take time away from her family. She said she would get back to them later.

“Again, I am blessed to have such support from everybody who participated and I won’t forget your love and I just want to say, ‘I love you too,’” she said.

On the Net: www.lauraandeuna.com.