Seoul  - North Korean authorities detained two US journalists at the border with China, news reports said Thursday.

The two women who work for US-based online media were detained this week by North Korean border guards when they filmed footage at the Stalinist state's border with China, the South Korean Yonhap news agency said, quoting diplomat sources.

"Two reporters working for US internet news media, including a Korean American, were detained by North Korean authorities earlier this week, and they remain in custody there," the source said.

Yonhap reported the journalists were detained on North Korean territory while South Korea's YTN news channel said they had been filming from across the Tunmen River, which marks the border between the two countries.

North Korean border guards crossed into Chinese territory and nabbed the journalists, the report said.

The US embassies in Seoul and Beijing declined to comment on the reports. (dpa)