DPRK: US journalists admitted illegal crossing

SEOUL/TOKYO: Two US journalists sentenced by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) last week to 12 years of hard labor for politically motivated acts were caught filming their illegal crossing into the country, state-run media said yesterday, providing the first details of their arrest.

The reporting team from Current TV crossed the frozen Tumen River dividing the DPRK and China three months ago and walked up the river bank - all the while recording their transgression, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

"We've just entered a North Korean (DPRK) courtyard without permission," the Korean translation of their narration on the videotape said, according to KCNA. One of them picked up and pocketed a stone as a memento of the illegal move, the report said.