North Korea finally confirmed that it detainted two American journalists working for Al Gore’s Current TV last week.

Pyongyang said Laura Ling, a 32-year-old Chinese-American, and Euna Lee, a Korean-American, are being held on charges of "illegally intruding" into the North through its border with China. Lee and Ling — sister of former "The View" host Lisa Ling — were reporting on female refugees along the China-North Korea border when they were taken by North Korea border guards. Few details were known about the women for several days, while U.S. diplomats — including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — were working to gather more information and secure their release. Their colleague and a Chinese guide were reportedly detained, as well, although some reports say they escaped. It’s still unclear exactly how they were captured, as they crossed the Tumen river that separates the two countries.

But what is very clear, is that negotiating the reporters’ freedom from a country with which the U.S. has strained relations will be tricky. 

"If they release them in next few days, it means the North Koreans are interested in dialogue with the Obama administration," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who negotiated the release of an American from North Korea in 1996, told ABC News. "If they don’t release them in the next few days, it means that they are raising stakes."