A South Korean expert has advised the US to negotiate the release of the two journalists in North Korea as quickly as possible.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in North Korea.
Border guards detained Ms Ling and Ms Lee on 17 March along the frontier with China while they were researching a story about refugees fleeing the North.
The pair, both in their 30s, were on a reporting assignment for San Francisco based Current TV, a company co-founded by former US vice president Al Gore.
Laura Ling and Euna Lee were sentenced to ‘reform through labour’ for an illegal border crossing and an unspecified 'grave crime'.
Under North Korean communist law, the two will be transferred to prison in the next 10 days.
The verdict is final and cannot be appealed as it came from the North's highest court.
US President Barack Obama, expressing deep concern, says his government is using 'all possible channels' to obtain their release.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed yesterday for the North to show clemency and deport the women amid speculation a senior US figure may be sent to Pyongyang to negotiate their release.
