The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday it detained two Americans Tuesday as they were "illegally intruding into the territory of the DPRK by crossing the DPRK-China border."
A report by the official Korean Central News Agency confirmed their detention and said the authorities were "investigating the case."
Earlier, foreign media reported that two female American journalists, who were filming along the China-DPRK border, were detained in the DPRK by its border guards after crossing into the country.
Britain's Financial Times quoted a source as saying that the two were lingering in the DPRK after crossing the frozen Tumen river dividing China and the DPRK.
The Associated Press quoted the Yonhap news agency as saying the two U.S. journalists were arrested in the DPRK.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said Thursday that the government wants to find out all the facts and is contacting the DPRK through the Swedish embassy to Pyongyang.
Other media reports said the United States, through bilateral channels, has requested the DPRK to release the journalists as soon as possible.
(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2009)