Vault: Laura Ling was captured in North Korea

Summary

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The Bert Show — "Vault: Laura Ling was captured in North Korea"

Air Date: August 6, 2026
Main Theme:
This intense episode dives into journalist Laura Ling’s harrowing 2009 capture and imprisonment in North Korea while reporting on human trafficking. The Bert Show cast (including Bert, Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy, and others), along with call-ins and audio clips, explore Laura’s experience, her decision-making under duress, her emotional aftermath, and the dramatic diplomatic intervention that resulted in her release.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Entering North Korea: Accidental or Inevitable?

• Setting the Scene (00:47):
  The hosts quickly pivot from everyday banter to the gravity of Ling's story:
  • "Put yourself in this situation where you've really got to make some very intense decisions very quickly."
• Why Enter North Korea? (01:16):
  Laura was reporting on the North Korean sex trade for Current TV and crossed into North Korea unintentionally, following a hired local guide.
  • Laura Ling (01:28):
    "We hired somebody who had worked with the media in the past. ...while we were on the river filming, he continued to walk across the ice. ...We followed him and he motioned for us to follow."
  • There were no visible signs, barbed wire, fences, or guards at the crossing point, making the actual border ambiguous.
  • "We stepped foot in North Korea, and after less than a minute, we said, we need to leave. ...Halfway across the ice, ...I saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles running towards us." (02:02–02:30)

The Moment of Capture

• Brutal Detainment (03:24):
  Laura describes being physically assaulted by North Korean guards:
  • "There was a guard above me. He was particularly fierce... He kicked me with his boot. He knocked me in the face, in the shoulder... He raised his rifle, the butt... I saw the rifle coming down, and I thought this could be the end for me. ...I blacked out." (03:24–04:39)

Journalistic Peril: Destroying Evidence, Facing Interrogation

• Sideline Insights (05:27):
  Upon initial capture, Ling and colleague Yuna Lee destroyed tapes and ate their notes to protect sources and others:

  • "We ripped up notes from the notebook, ate them, ripped up videotapes, deleted pictures, and did whatever we could ...to destroy the evidence in our possession." (05:41)

• Forced Confession (06:31):
  Pressured by her captors, Ling lied and “confessed” to espionage to save herself:

  • "I knew that was the confession that they wanted to hear. ...If you confess, there may be forgiveness. And if you don't...the worst could happen."
  • “I didn't know if I was sealing my fate and could be sent out to a firing squad the next day. But I just had to trust that this was the right thing to do.” (06:38–07:07)

Conditions in Captivity

• Describing the Cell (07:07):
  • Ling describes a 5-by-6-foot cell, and a doctor's visit to treat wounds.

POW Perspective: Call-in from John (Retired Air Force Pilot)

• Relating Trauma (07:27):
  John calls in with his own 11-year Korean POW experience for perspective:
  • "Just basically put a lab rat in a cage and then just stick it in a dryer for 24 hours. But do that every day." (07:55)
  • Describes sleep deprivation, persistent beatings, maggot-infested food, and the psychological toll.

Sentence and Despair

• Sentencing (09:59):
  For her “crime,” Ling is sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.
  • "I had tried to prepare myself for a long sentence... But once I heard those words, 12 years come from the judge, ...I could barely stand up straight." (10:20)
  • The declaration of “no forgiveness, no appeal” drove Ling into deep depression, refusing meals and isolating herself.

Diplomatic Miracle: Bill Clinton’s Intervention

• Clinton Arrives (11:07):
  The former president orchestrates their release.
  • "Standing before us was President Clinton, and ...it was this angelic figure that had come to save us." (11:07–11:34)
  • Clinton comforts the women, promising, "I have a little bit more work to do, but I hope and I believe that you will be on that plane with us tomorrow." (11:54)
  • Show hosts and callers discuss Clinton’s unique diplomatic rapport with North Korean leadership as key to the rescue.

Ling’s Emotional Aftermath

• Self-Blame and Guilt (13:23):
  • "I was angry at myself. I would go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror and think, who are you and how did this happen? ...I slapped myself because I wanted to punish myself for putting my family through this." (13:23)

Ethical Debate: Responsibility & Risk

• Caller Response (14:05):
  A listener, Angie, voices mixed feelings—sympathy for Ling, but also a sense of personal responsibility for risking crossing the border.
  • "I really sympathize with what she went to on one hand. But on the other hand, I really feel like some of that she brought on herself." (14:05)
  • The hosts and listeners briefly debate the ethical balance between journalistic risk and self-preservation.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the ambiguity of the border:
  Laura Ling (02:02):
  "There are no signs saying no trespassing. ...But of course, we did know that as you're crossing the river, you're getting closer and closer."

• The violence of capture:
  Laura Ling (04:21):
  "I looked up, I saw the rifle coming down... The butt of the rifle struck my head and I blacked out."

• Destroying evidence under duress:
  Laura Ling (05:41):
  "We ripped up notes... ate them, ripped up videotapes, deleted pictures, and did whatever we could..."

• Prisoner of war stark reality:
  John, Retired Air Force Pilot (07:55):
  "Put a lab rat in a cage and then just stick it in a dryer for 24 hours. But do that every day."

• Diplomatic rescue moment:
  Laura Ling (11:07):
  "Standing before us was President Clinton and seriously felt like it was this angelic figure that had come to save us."

• Enduring guilt:
  Laura Ling (13:23):
  "I slapped myself because I wanted to punish myself for putting my family through this. ...That was the hardest thing for me."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Entering North Korea: 01:28–02:30
• Capture and Assault: 03:24–04:39
• Destroying Evidence: 05:27–06:09
• Forced Confession: 06:31–07:07
• POW Testimony: 07:27–09:44
• Sentencing & Despair: 09:59–10:54
• Bill Clinton's Rescue: 11:07–11:58
• Ling's Self-Blame: 13:23–13:51
• Listener Debate on Responsibility: 14:05–14:42

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Tone & Flow

The overall tone is urgent, reflective, and at times rawly emotional—punctuated with brief moments of The Bert Show’s characteristic humor, but never losing sight of the harrowing reality of Ling’s ordeal. The inclusion of survivors’ testimonies, both Laura Ling and the POW caller, adds gritty, personal context alongside the journalistic analysis and ethical debate.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a vivid, unflinching look at the risks journalists take for the truth, the trauma of political imprisonment, and the high-level diplomacy sometimes required to bring Americans home. Laura Ling’s recounting is visceral, haunted by guilt, but ultimately a story of survival—with a dramatic “knight in shining armor” rescue by Bill Clinton. The episode encourages listeners to engage with empathy, consider journalistic ethics, and appreciate the real dangers faced in pursuit of hidden stories.

Transcript

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[Laura Ling]

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[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

All right, let's get into this Ling thing here because this is pretty intense, man. I mean, put yourself in this situation where you've really got to make some very intense decisions very quickly.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah, absolutely. This is Laura Lang. She crossed over into North Korea and was captured. You know, something that we're not allowed to do. And so she did the wrong thing and was captured. But this is her and her sister on with Oprah Winfrey talking about the capture. They've written a book now, and I am desperately looking up the title right this second.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Why were they in North Korea in the first place? What were they investigating?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Well, she was doing a story on North Korea and should not have crossed over the border while doing that story. But she explains here how that actually happened.

[Laura Ling]

We hired somebody who had worked with the media in the past. He knew the area well. He was very cautious up until that moment. And while we were on the river filming, he continued to walk across the ice. And our guide continued to walk closer and closer to North Korea. Yeah, right. And we followed him and he motioned for us to follow.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

The guide did.

[Laura Ling]

The guide did.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Okay. Is there like a spot where, you know, in this. There's this line or there's some division that you know that if you're. Put your foot over that now you're in North Korea.

[Laura Ling]

There was not. There are no signs saying no trespassing. There's no barbed wire, there's no fence. There were no guards in sight. But of course, we did know that as you're crossing the river, you're getting closer and closer to the other side. We stepped foot in North Korea, and after less than a minute, we said, we need to Leave. We walked back across the ice, and about halfway across the ice and we heard yelling coming from down the river. I turned around and saw two North Korean soldiers with rifles running towards us. They're running on the ice.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

On the ice.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

All right, so I've said this before, that if you look at this logically, look at careers logically, there has to be a best and there has to be a worst in every career. One of you is going to the best dentists in the world. One of you is probably going mathematically, logically, to the crappiest. She got the crappiest tour guide and didn't know it walks her right over the North Korea line.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah, she did. And they were. She knew they were close, but. But she didn't know exactly where they were going. They were on Oprah yesterday to promote this new book. It's called Somewhere Inside One Sister's Captivity in North Korea and the Others Fight to Bring Her Home. That's the name of it. That's why they were on Oprah telling the story. And here she is after she was captured. What happened to Laura Ling, in her own words?

[Laura Ling]

There was a guard above me. He was particularly fierce, and he. As I was down on the soil, he was above me. He kicked me with his boot. He knocked me in the face, in the shoulder, and that just sent a shock through me. And then he continued to drag me across the ice. And there was a soldier upon Yuna that was doing the same. So we were slowly being dragged across the frozen river. And while we were on the ice again, I wanted to try to do anything I could to stay as close as I could to China. And I. And I actually started yelling, please, please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We're sorry. And I think that only made him more upset.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

So he's dragging you across the ice.

[Laura Ling]

He's dragging. And I'm screaming, were you.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Did I read, too, that he hit you with a gun butt?

[Laura Ling]

At that moment on the ice, it was about. He was getting closer and closer to North Korea. He raised his rifle, the butt of his rifle. And I looked up, I saw the rifle coming down, and I thought this could be the end for me. The butt of the rifle struck my head and I blacked out.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Oh, God. Yeah. So that's what happens at the first capture. And then once they are captured, she and the other journalist she was with were left alone for a short time. She was working for a San Francisco based Current TV is what it's called. It's a media venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore. So that's who she was working for. She was actually doing a story on the sex trade in North Korea and the things that are happening there.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

That must have been like the reality moment right there. Because when you get a rifle to the head, you get a rifle to the butt of the head, like, all of a sudden like this. You think, you don't see this in our country generally, a cop's not gonna come up to you, and he's certainly not gonna be that kind of physical. And when you get that kind of rifle butt to the head, you're like, damn, these people are not messing. This is the real thing here.

[Narrator/Commentator]

And here's what they tried to do once they were captured.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You write in somewhere inside that there was a moment where you were left alone and you all destroyed the tapes, which I was like, oh, got to you at least got to destroy the tapes. And that you ate your notes. You chewed up your notes.

[Laura Ling]

It was very early on. It was the first day that we were captured, and for six reason, we were left alone with our belongings for a short period of time. So with guards right outside our door, we thought, we need to get rid of this evidence because we don't want anyone to be endangered. So we ripped up notes from the notebook, ate them, ripped up videotapes, deleted pictures, and did whatever we could in the little time that we had to destroy the evidence in our possession.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Now, here's what Bert was talking about earlier. When she has to lie to save her own life. Remember you were saying, I mean, you've

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

gotta make a decision here. I mean, a really tough decision. What do I do? Cuz, you know, you're taught your entire life, go the honest route. Go the honest route, tell the truth and the system will work for you. Well, in this case in North Korea, you tell the truth, the system doesn't work for you.

[Laura Ling]

No, in their mind, I was trying to overthrow the government.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And at one point, didn't you tell them I was trying to overthrow the government?

[Laura Ling]

Yes, I knew that that was the confession that they wanted to hear. And I was told, if you confess, there may be forgiveness. And if you don't, if you're not frank, if you don't confess, then the worst could happen. And so it was the most difficult decision to have to do that. I didn't know if I was sealing my fate and could be sent out to a firing squad the next day. But I just had to trust that this was the right thing to do.

[Narrator/Commentator]

They were at first in their Captivity in a five by six foot jail cell. And they say that, or she said she was visited by a doctor. Inspect the wounds that she received while she was trying to evade the capture.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Okay, in a second, Jenna's gonna tell you what. Knight in shining armor comes into Korea and saves the day. But first, John went in on this. Hey, John.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Hey, how you guys doing this morning?

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Good, man. Thank you for calling.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Just want to say briefly, real quickly, I can sympathize with the journalist because I'm a retired Air Force pilot and I was shot down and I was a POW of war for 11 years.

[Narrator/Commentator]

No way. Wow.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

So I can sympathize on what they went through because what they did to us is a whole lot worse.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Just give us a little insight, like, what's it like to be in captivity, a POW in Korea, nonetheless, for 11 years.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Eleven years, just basically put a lab rat in a cage and then just stick it in a dryer for 24 hours. But do that every day.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

You're just like, by the time you

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

fall asleep and think you're gonna get some rest, they come in, they wake you up, they beat you around some more, and then now you're just so tired you can't stay awake. They keep you awake.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Did you think you were gonna survive it?

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

I didn't think I was gonna make the first six weeks, really. But then after that, you know, thinking of family, home, coming home, hopefully parents, future, then the wheel starts to take over. So I can sympathize with what those journalists went through. And it's no joke over there.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

At Some point over 11 years, you must have thought, I mean, if they're doing this to you every day, I'll just kill myself.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Oh, well. Made me a stronger person now because I'm in correctionals officer now.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Wow, really?

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah.

[Caller/Listener]

This he's laughing about.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Yeah, like, well, I mean, I work

[Caller/Listener]

in the prisons now.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Well, you got, you gotta, you gotta get your mind out of that. If not, you can end up like, you know, a vegetable. You just gotta say, okay, it happened to me. I'm here, I'm alive. I'm talking to the bird show.

[Caller/Listener]

I, you know, I'm wondering, does it make you mad when you see prisoners who have committed, like, violent crimes in the U.S. get to watch TV and write letters?

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Honestly, these guys playing cards and basketball and stuff are doing heinous crimes, murder, rape and all that stuff. We should just be put in a box and sheltered for the next five years so they know just total silence.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Could you imagine, like, being one of, you know, like, his guys, like, you think it's bad here? You think it's bad because you get three square meals here, right?

[Caller/Listener]

Because we just took away. We just took away your.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

I could say this. They would give us some food, but by the time you had the strength to eat it, there were flies and maggots in your food. So you had to work around those.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Wow.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

And who knows if it's any worse or any better here for. For Lisa Lang. John, thank you very much for calling, man.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

God bless you.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Laura Lang and another journalist, Yuna Lee, were the ones who were captured back in March of 2009. And a couple of months into it, they were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. After that sentencing, Laura Lang said she just got super depressed.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, and when you heard that, what did you do? How did you feel?

[Laura Ling]

I was petrified. I. I had tried to prepare myself for a long sentence. I told myself this could be. It could be long. But once I heard those words, 12 years come from the judge. I mean, I could barely stand up straight.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And didn't he say, no forgiveness, and no.

[Laura Ling]

No forgiveness, no appeal? And that's what really cut into me. So I just. I spiraled into a deep depression, and I refused my meals, and I just kind of huddled into a dark corner of the room for quite a while.

[Narrator/Commentator]

But they say there was only one knight in shining armor who could have saved her.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

When Bill Clinton arrived, you all are walking down a hall, and you had heard that maybe he might be coming, right?

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Right.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Yeah.

[Laura Ling]

I mean, it was unreal. It was surreal. I was walking down a hallway with dozens of North Korean security agents, and I see this bald American with an earpiece Secret Service agent. And I just felt the presence of my country. And I was ushered. You and I were ushered into a room, and standing before us was President Clinton and seriously felt like it was this angelic figure that had come to save us.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

And what did you say to him?

[Laura Ling]

I said to him, president Clinton, we've apologized for what we've done. I hope that you can do the same and apologize on our behalf. He said that that's been done. I still have a little bit more work to do, but I hope and I believe that you will be on that plane with us tomorrow.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

Wow. That had to feel like, what?

[Laura Ling]

I mean, unreal.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Unreal.

[Laura Ling]

And the only person that could come to our rescue was President Clinton. And we are so, so appreciative.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

All he heard was that he was going to a women's prison.

[Caller/Listener]

Oh, come on.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

You know it.

[Caller Angie]

I know.

[Narrator/Commentator]

I don't know.

[Caller/Listener]

You want to go get a couple of women over in Korea? Yeah, I do. Gas up the jet, point it east.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Like, you know, like foreign policy. Well enough to know why he. Why was he the only one that could have.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

The only diplomat? I'm not really sure what the heck was there.

[Caller/Listener]

Just remembering from the story when it happened, like he had some sort of relationship with North Korea. And the guy who. The Kim Jong crazy. The guy who runs North Korea, like, he loved Bill Clinton for some reason. Like, he had, like, a relationship with Bill Clinton because, remember, at that time, Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of state.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah, right.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

That's right.

[Caller/Listener]

Or at least the appointee. So she should have been the one to do that. But everybody knew that because of who this guy, this leader of Korea loved Bill Clinton so much, they knew that he would be able to facilitate it. I think that's the story.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Gotcha.

[Caller/Listener]

Or something similar to that.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Yeah. Craziness. She also talks about how she actually abused herself.

[Interviewer/Co-host]

You know, you talk a little bit at the end of the book and shared with us, having to put your family through this, the US Government through this. But during that whole time, were you thinking about what. How did this happen to you, that you got yourself into this situation?

[Laura Ling]

Of course. And I was angry at myself. I would go into the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror and think, who are you and how did this happen? And I literally would. I hit myself. I slapped myself because I wanted to punish myself for putting my family through this. And I thought about that every day and the pain that they must be feeling. That was the hardest thing for me.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Intense, man.

[Narrator/Commentator]

Crazy.

[Caller Angie]

Crazy.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

I mean, that's somebody's life right there. That sounds like. Like a made for TV movie, right?

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[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

Here's Angie. Good morning. You're on the Birch. Oh, hi.

[Caller Angie]

Hi, Bert. Show.

[John (Retired Air Force pilot caller)]

Love the show.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

What's going on?

[Caller Angie]

I watched the show yesterday, and I have to say I really sympathize with what she went to on one hand. But on the other hand, I really feel like some of that she brought on herself. I mean, I say that because when you crossed that river from China into North Korea, you may not have known what footstep was gonna lead you into North Korea, but you knew where you were headed to. And that's exactly what she said on the show.

[Laura Ling]

I don't know if you can blame her as much as you can blame the guide.

[Caller Angie]

I'm not blaming her. But there are certain situations that you can keep yourself out of danger for

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

some people it's very black and white, man. You're either in the right, you're in the wrong.

[Narrator/Commentator]

You know, she's a journalist. That's what she does.

[Show Host (possibly Bert)]

A journalist. You always push in there.

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