Euna Lee and Laura Ling Scheduled for a June 4th Trial

With the recent release of Roxana Saberi that has left Euna Lee and Laura Ling in the hands of the North Korean government. After an incident along the Yalu river they were seized by the North Koreans shortly before their ICBM launch. Now we have a possible trial date.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it would put two U.S. journalists it arrested in March on trial on June 4, ratcheting up tension with Washington after a rocket launch and a threat to conduct a nuclear test.

Analysts said the reclusive North sees the two reporters as bargaining chips to try to win concessions out of the government of U.S. President Barack Obama, which is pressing Pyongyang to return to stalled nuclear disarmament talks.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV, were arrested along the North Korea-China border. They were accused of illegally entering North Korea with "hostile" intent and Pyongyang has said they face criminal charges.

"The Central Court of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) decided to try the American journalists on June 4 according to the indictment of the competent organ," the official KCNA news agency said in a one-sentence dispatch.

Washington has said it was in touch with the North through various channels to secure the release of the journalists, with details of their pre-dawn arrest still murky.

The State Department had no comment on the trial date report.

This may also be about North Korea's alleged plans to test another atomic weapon.