Jackson Wanted to Help Jailed Journalists: Report

Star wondered if Kim Jong Il was a fan

By LORI PREUITT
Updated 11:24 PM EDT, Mon, Jul 6, 2009

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American journalists Laura Ling, right, and Euna Lee were convicted and sentenced to 12 years in a North Korea labor prison.
AP

Before he died, Michael Jackson inquired about helping get the two Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee out of North Korea, according to a blog post written by Gotham Chopra, a close friend.

The two San Francisco-based journalists have been held in a North Korean prison since crossing into the country.

Gotham Chopra, son of bestselling author Deepak Chopra, appeared last week on Larry King Live saying that he knew the pop star through his father for over two decades.

A few weeks back, according to Gotham's post, Jackson hesitantly asked, "Do you think that the leader of North Korea could be a fan of mine?"

The pop star reportedly said he'd seen some pictures on the Internet of Kim Jong Il and noticed that the two wore similar jackets.

Chopra said that he didn't know, but that he would try to find out.

According to the blog post, Jackson went on to say, "Please, because maybe if he was a fan, I could help get those girls home."

Chopra wrote that he tried to find a connection but was unable. The pop star died before Chopra could get back to him.

First Published: Jul 6, 2009 4:56 PM EDT on NBC Bay Area

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