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Two US citizens and a British citizen who traveled to Khasansky County in southern Primorye to gaze at the Russian- N. Korean border were detained by Russian border guards and escorted out of the territory after they failed to present the required documents.

The foreigners were stopped at the Khasan border railway station during the passengers’ document check, a statement from the Far Eastern Border Department of Russia’s Federal Security Service reported Wednesday. All three lacked the special documents necessary to visit a border zone.

The inspection revealed that the three are students at Far Eastern National University (FENU), age 25, 21 and 20 years old, the statement said.

The detained claimed they wanted to visit the border territory as tourists and see the Russian – North Korean border as well as Khasan Lake.

The border guard officers filed an administrative case, the statement said.

Since the beginning of 2007, border guards have detained a total of 17 trespassers in the settlement of Khasan, which is a border area requiring authorized permission to visit.