Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Two U.S. reporters detained in N. Korea

RIA Novosti

19/03/2009 13:04 MOSCOW, March 19 (RIA Novosti) - Two U.S. female journalists were detained by North Korean border guards at the border between China and North Korea, South Korean media said on Thursday.

"Two reporters working for a U.S.-based Internet news media outlet, including a Korean-American, were detained by North Korean authorities earlier this week, and they remain in custody there," South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

According to the agency two journalists from the Los Angeles-based Current TV, accidentally crossed the border into North Korea while making a film about the secretive Communist state some two or three days ago. The detainees were identified as Euna Lee, editor of the news service section, and Laura Ling, a reporter.

Other South Korean media reported that the group comprised three people, and a male reporter managed to escape.

Earlier reports said that North Korean border guards had detained the journalists on Chinese soil.