BBC -- A court in North Korea has sentenced two US journalists to 12 years' hard labour, state media say.

Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were found guilty of "hostile acts" and illegal entry into the communist state.


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They were arrested in March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.

The trial comes amid growing tensions over North Korea's nuclear program which is prompting US-led sanctions.

"The trial confirmed the grave crime they (the reporters) committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor," state-run KCNA news agency said in a brief report.

The news agency gave no further details.

Clemency appeal

Euna Lee and Laura Ling were arrested by North Korean guards while working on the China-North Korea border on a story about refugees for California-based internet broadcaster Current TV.

Some reports have suggested that the women were held while on Chinese soil, but Pyongyang's state media say they had illegally entered North Korea.

The women's families have appealed for clemency and asked Pyongyang and Washington not to link the case to the current diplomatic stand-off between them.