WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says two American reporters sentenced last month to 12 years of hard labor for entering North Korea illegally have expressed "great remorse for this incident."

Clinton called Friday for North Korea to grant amnesty to Laura Ling and Euna Lee and let them return home quickly to their families. She says "everyone is very sorry that it happened."

Ling's sister says Laura acknowledged during a recent phone call that she had broken North Korean law and that she and Lee are seeking the U.S. government's help.

The women worked for U.S.-based Current TV. The North says they documented their journey into North Korea, even pocketing a stone to commemorate the illicit trip across the frozen Tumen River from China.