Two U.S. journalists jailed in North Korea for months say soldiers "violently dragged" them back into the Communist country after they returned to Chinese soil.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee said they were "firmly back" on the Chinese side when North Korean border guards grabbed them on March 17.

"We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers," the journalists wrote in an article posted Tuesday on Current TV's Web site.

"They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained.

After their capture, Lee and Ling were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and "hostile acts" against North Korea.

The women were held until the North pardoned them in early August after former President Bill Clinton negotiated their release.