North Korea detains two US journalists

SEOUL (AFP) - The United States has expressed concern to North Korea after its border guards detained two American journalists along the frontier with China, the US State Department said Thursday.
The incident comes amid rising tensions in the region as Pyongyang prepares a long-range rocket launch for early next month. The pair were taken into custody Tuesday “across the Tumen river by what appear to be North Korean border guards,” department press officer Fred Lash told AFP.
“We are working with Chinese government officials in that particular area to ascertain the whereabouts and welfare of the Americans in question,” he added. “We’ve also been in touch with North Korean officials to express our concern about the situation.” Washington had also been in contact through the Swedish embassy in Pyongyang, which represents its interests in the communist state.
Diplomatic sources and media reports identified the two women as Euna Lee, a Korean American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese American, who work for Current TV in California.
The Tumen River marks the border between China and North Korea and is a common escape route for refugees fleeing the North. It was unclear on which side of the border the journalists were seized.
A diplomatic source told AFP the two were held by security guards over “suspected border violations” after being caught Tuesday shooting video on the North’s side of the river.
A human rights activist and Protestant pastor who helped arrange their trip to China confirmed to AFP that they had been held since Tuesday together with their Chinese guide, an ethnic Korean.
“They apparently got too close to the North Korean side of the Tumen River” when they were seized, said Chun Kiwon, speaking by telephone from New York.