The United States says it is trying to confirm reports that North Korea has detained two U.S. reporters near its border with China.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters Friday that Washington is trying to ascertain all the facts, adding that he doesn’t have any real definitive information other than what has been reported by the media.

Wood said Washington is going to talk to the North through the Swedish Embassy, which represents Washington's interests in the hard-line communist state. However, he could not confirm whether U.S. officials had already attempted such a contact with the Swedish Embassy.

The two female journalists that are being detained work for Current TV, which is an online television network that was established by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

Current TV confirmed in a statement Friday the identities of their two reporters and that they are, indeed, being detained. The two were identified as Euna Lee, an ethnic Korean, and Laura Ling, an ethnic Chinese.