North Korean media said border guards arrested two U.S. journalists March 17 for "illegally intruding" from China. Laura Ling and Euna Lee work for former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's San Francisco-based media outlet Current TV.

South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported March 24 that Ling and Lee were being held at private quarters run by the North Korean military intelligence agency on the outskirts of the North's capital, Pyongyang.

The newspaper said they were being questioned by military intelligence officers for alleged espionage.