North Korea Detains Two U.S. Journalists

Two American journalists and their guide were detained by North Korean soldiers while on a reporting trip near the country's border with China, according to the State Department and their employer, Current TV.

U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash confirmed to CBS News Thursday that two Americans had been detained near the China-North Korea border two days earlier.

"On March 17 early-morning China time, two U.S. citizens were taken into custody by what appeared to be North Korean border guards where the Tumen River crosses from China into North Korea," said Lash.

Lash would not name the missing U.S. nationals, but told CBS News they were journalists and may have been filming along the border when they were detained.

"The U.S. is working with Chinese authorities and the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang to secure their release and ensure their safety, and has expressed its concern to North Korea about the situation," said Lash.

A statement on Current TV's Web site confirmed that the Americans were Laura Ling, a reporter for the California-based online media outlet, and her photographer Euna Kim. The statement said both had been detained by North Korean soldiers.

Current TV was co-founded by former Vice President Al Gore in 2005.

Along with their Chinese guide, they were being held in North Korea after being arrested, the Rev. Chun Ki-won of the Seoul-based Doorihana Mission told The Associated Press by telephone from Washington.

Chun said he met with the two in Seoul recently to help them plan their trip to the border to report on North Korean refugees, and last spoke to them by telephone early Tuesday morning. The women told him they were near North Korea's far northeastern border, at the Tumen River, and were heading northwest toward the Yalu River near the Chinese border city of Dandong.

The Tumen and Yalu rivers are frequent crossing points for both trade and the growing number of North Koreans seeking to escape through the porous border. Chun's group helps North Korean defectors hiding in China and in Southeast Asian countries seek asylum in the U.S. and South Korea.

Earlier Thursday, South Korean media reported that North Korean soldiers took two U.S. journalists into custody after they ignored orders to stop filming.

In Seoul, U.S. Embassy spokesman Aaron Tarver said he had no information about the reported arrests and referred calls to the State Department. U.S. officials in Washington could not be reached for comment.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters at a regular press briefing: "China is investigating the issue involving relevant U.S. nationals on the border between China and the DPRK (North Korea)."

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young told reporters he had no comment.